Rumors of the Shadow Fox III
by Evilsheeplordthatsaysmoo
Summary: Adopted from drag0nlaw and zigawits. In a time of Konoha looks into the most unlikly source for help; a rumor. Will this rumor save them or bring them their down fall? Harem
1. Intro

Rumors

AN: Hey EVERYONE. First time author Evilsheeplordthatsaysmoo here. Uh… I really don't know what to say… kind of sad that the first fic I 'publish' on this site isn't mine, but overjoyed that I get to take over for a magnificent story such as this one. Now this story will both be very similar to the original as well as slightly different; such as things being add. For example, it will probably have more back-story than the original and I'm sorry if this makes anyone sad, angry, constipated, etc.

Anyway like to thank both drag0nclaw and zigawits for letting me adopt this story as well as of you that put me on your author alters list as well as favorite authors list. It means so much to one such as I.

Oh sorry this didn't come out right away, I was working on it and I work sort of slow so don't expect updates too quickly.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or the original idea for this story.** ENJOY**

XxXxX **Intro** XxXxX

Rumors. The world is full of them. You can go to any village and will always be another rumor. One of the most common of these rumors are those about the Shadow Fox. Although each rumor is different from the last and tend to contradict each other, there are two things that are always constant in the rumor of the Shadow Fox. The first is that it has been just over four years since the Shadow Fox was first heard of, and the second is that who ever is foolish enough to make him an enemy end up dead soon after.

Even though there are endless rumors of the Shadow Fox, there are no known facts; just the rumors. These rumors range from him being nothing more than a bedtime story, to the ridiculous ones of him being an actual fox in human form. In each village he is known, and in each village he is thought to be nothing more than a rumor.

Even though most people think of him as nothing more than a story, some people have very different ideas, some believe that he will bring them fame, power and wealth if they can tame him, while others wish to offer a home in their village in hopes he will defend its interests. These people include the leaders of the Shinobi villages. After all, with the Shadow Fox their enemy's would think twice before attacking them, and business for the village would boom. So, naturally, the villages had organized many searches for him. None of these searches, however, have produced any results. After all it is almost impossible to find someone when you have no idea what he or she look like. One rumor says that he wears nothing but a pair of shorts, while others say he completely hides his appearance. So naturally with all the conflicting rumors it's like finding a needle in a haystack, a very large haystack; but a needle in a haystack nonetheless

With all the different rumors it is impossible for anyone to know what is truth and what is fiction, well anyone except the Shadow Fox himself, that is.

One of the first rumors of him is how he defended Wave Country from hundreds of bandits. Rumor says time and again the bandits descended upon the prospering village and time and again the Shadow Fox defeated them. The rumors of his defense of Wave Country gave way to the rumors of him being the guardian of the Wave. So it is only natural that many people have visited the village in hopes of meeting him. Currently, like so many before them, a Team of Konoha Shinobi was approaching the village in search of him.

XxXxX

"So we're finally here" spoke a figure stepping out of the forest, the figure of a young man. He wore a sturdy black leather jacket with red triangles pointing down each of his cheeks. Beside him walked a large, dangerous looking, white dog.

"Not quite, we've still got to cross the bridge" spoke an older woman beside him.

"What are we waiting for then Kurenai-sensei?" replied the young man.

"Let's continue then Kiba." Kurenai sighed while two more figures appeared beside them, marveling that the young man, after all the years of training, still acted irrationally.

"Didn't Kakashi's Team come here?" Kiba asked while approaching the bridge.

"I believe they aided in building this bridge," Shino, a young man also wearing a large jacket with a hood, stated in his ever present monotone, pushing his sunglasses up is nose

Just as they were about to continue over the bridge they turned to the last member of the Team, who was already at one of the pillars of the bridge, read a plaque of some sorts.

"What you reading Hinata?" Kiba yelled towards the girl. The girl, much like her other Teammates, also wore a jacket in a lavender tint. When the girl did not reply, they made their way towards her. When they arrived at the pillar she stood before they began to read what the plaque said:

'_Here lies the Great Naruto Bridge, Named for the boy who showed the heart of a hero ____ in hopes that like his courage, this bridge will never fail'_

It has been four years since Uzumaki Naruto died. Upon the return of Team 7 after the mission to assist in the creation in the bridge that helped save Wave Country's economy, everyone was shocked when found out about his death.

XxXxX Flashback XxXxX

Inside the Hokage's office stood Team 8 and 10 waiting for missions to be distributed. Just as they were about to receive menial 'D' ranked their mission's for the day, Team 7 entered, each member of the Team seemed defeated.

"Team 7 reporting that the mission was a success" Kakashi said. What shocked everyone though was that his nose was not buried in its usual place, in fact his book could not be seen. This instantly placed all of the present ANBU, Jounin and the Hokage on guard.

Kakashi _never_ had his book missing from his face. The only times that it would be gone from its designated 'post' would be when Kakashi was either fighting a dangerous opponent, serious, or when he was sleeping; and the sleeping part was debatable. Seeing as there was no enemy, nor was he sleeping, he must be serious.

"What is your report?" asked the aged Hokage slowly as he interlaced his fingers over his desk.

"A-ano, Where's N-Naruto-kun?" asked the pale eyed Hinata. She could sense something _ominous_ in the air the Kakashi's slouched posture and the adults stiffening at the realization that the blond Genin was not in the room.

Hinata had instantly, though discreetly, looked for her long time crush, no, it is love she corrected herself, once she saw the Cycloptic Ninja, the Uchiha and the pink haired _gorgon_ enter the room; her posture straightening, her head rose only a fracture of a degree higher, as well as the slight larger intake of breathe to cause her, larger than average, bust to be enhanced, even though it was not visible through her bulky gray over coat.

'_Maybe he's at the Hospital,'_ thought the navy blue haired girl. This led to a blush to form on her porcelain cheeks as she envisioned herself caring for the blond bundle of energy, as well as other thoughts involving the paper like Hospital gown.

"He's… He's dead" Kakashi finally choked out.

Seconds pasted as the world seemed to stop. Hinata's blushed slowly receded only to be gradually be replaced with a sickening paleness; her figure began to shake uncontrollably, her eyes widened until they encompassed most of her face, and her arms instinctively rose from their previous post at her sides to hug herself. Her pillar of strength was gone?!

No, the one-eyed Jounin must be lying to them; he just had to be, she reasoned in her mind, even as the tears began to fall.

Shino was indifferent except that his shoulders seemed to stiffen and if you looked closely you could see a lone tear escape from underneath his pitch black sunglasses and disappear into the collar of his large rain type coat. In reality, Shino was deeply distraught, for Naruto was one of the few people that would had talked to him in the academy, when the other children saw him as 'creepy' and distant. The only reason why the young Aburame, like most of his clan, was distant was because he was shy, worried of what the other students would think of his pact with his insect allies.

Naruto reacted differently than the boy had expected once Shino told of his pact; he just brushed it off and continued to talk to the young Aburame, just overjoyed that the young child would actually listen to him when few would. This lack of caring on Naruto's part caused Shino to have his first friend. Since Aburame's made few friends out of the comrade, Naruto indirectly gained the backing of the whole Aburame Clan.

Kiba was indeed shocked to find that the blond had 'kicked the bucket', but he was not entirely grieved by the news, unlike his two teammates. Even though he would not admit it out loud, he was slightly overjoyed by it. Now Hinata would need a 'shoulder to cry on' and there Kiba would be, the understanding and considerate teammate. To those that would take the time to observe the Inuzuka, they would see a rather large crush on the Hyuga heiress, but they would see it as how a butch looked at a bitch not as how a caring man viewed a lovely woman; only a willing female to give birth to many strong and male pups.

Ino had truly no opinion on the matter, only seeing Naruto as an obstacle in the way of her 'Sasuke-kun'. Shikamaru had a similar view on it; not having known Naruto that well himself, only taking enough time to say that the whole situation was 'troublesome'.

Choji on the other hand was so disturbed that he _dropped _his bag of barbeque flavored chips on the ground; causing its contents to spill upon the hard wood floor. Naruto, his Ramen 'chum', his broth brother, his fellow noodle devourer, was dead. There was no way. There was no way the Gods of Ramen could allow such a gifted follower and talented preacher of the fishcake-ian gospel to _die_! It was _blasphemy_!!

"WHAT" the Hokage shouted as he jumped from his chair, nearly causing his large oaken desk to topple. ANBU sprang from their hidden positions to refrain the elderly Shinobi from leaping over his desk to shake the already emotionally shaken 'Kopi-Ninja' to elaborate, all the while having great difficulty doing so.

"I said that he's dead Hokage-sama" Kakashi whispered again at the old man which had the effect of shocking everyone in the room.

"H-how?" asked Asuma, his lit cigarette long forgotten as it fell to the ground. Kurenai was silently gripping his hand for mental as well as emotional support, as she could think of nothing to say at the moment being that she too was too stunned to believe it.

Kurenai, along with more than ninety percent of the Shinobi population, saw Naruto for the young Genin that he was instead of the cursed fox within his navel. True, there would still be cases like Mizuki that would hate the boy for what he contained, but those, in the Shinobi population, were far and in between.

"He did it to save me…" Sasuke said while staring at the floor.

Sakura stayed quiet and could stare anywhere but the faces of the people that occupied the room.

"What do you mean?" The Hokage asked after calming himself; his ANBU guards now stand behind in case of another outbreak. Everyone in the room eyed Sasuke searching for the answer.

However it wasn't Sasuke that answered but Kakashi.

"During the mission we came across Momochi Zabuza, a Jounin level Nuke-Nin, and his apprentice called Haku. Apparently he had been hired by Gatou to kill Tazuna, the man we were guarding. We fought against them on the bridge, myself against Zabuza while Sasuke fought against Haku, and Sakura defended Tazuna."

"Where was Naruto?" interjected the elder Sarutobi.

"He was still at Tazuna's house. We had been training the day before and he was suffering from slight Chakra exhaustion. After a couple of minutes Haku placed what seemed to be a cage of mirrors around Sasuke. While inside the mirrors, Haku could move at speeds that would rival an Elite Jounin. Trapped by the mirrors Sasuke tried to defend himself but the mirrors withstood all his attacks.

"When Haku attempted to attack Sasuke again, Naruto arrived and managed to deflect his attack, however, by doing so he himself was trapped along with Sasuke by the mirrors. For a short while Naruto and Sasuke managed to hold him off; Sasuke with Katon Justus's and Naruto with Kage Bunshin, but soon Sasuke began to run out of Chakra and collapsed. When Haku tried to finish him off, Naruto intercepted him and took the blow for Sasuke. While this meant the Sasuke was safe Naruto was mortally wounded. However Naruto managed to kill Haku before he died," Kakashi ended with a slightly proud note to his voice in reciting the young blonds heroic deed.

"So if Naruto died, where's his body?" The aged Hokage asked a deflated tone. The other Jounin and ANBU were all curious as to this as well, seeing as it was illegal to not completely destroy a known corpse of your own village.

"He was buried in Wave Country Hokage-sama..."

This caught the Hokage's attention, "What do you mean 'He was buried in Wave Country'?"

Kakashi, for the first time during the whole explanation, looked at the Hokage with a slight bit of rage. "You and I both know that he would be treated more as the Hero in Wave Country then he would here," he said causing all of the older generation to nod in agreement.

The elder Hokage sighed in defeat as tears began to roll down his cheeks. With a wave of his hand the Teams were dismissed with no missions, claiming that everyone need the rest of the week off to deal with the troubling news. Hinata was the first to dash out of the room, tears spilling from her eyes. One by one they all left, a majority with tears in their eyes for the lose of a friend and hero, while others seemed to shrug it off; people die in their line of work, it was inevitable. The Hokage's ANBU guards, one by one, melted back into the shadows, but not before a choked sob from one of them was heard.

Days later the Hokage announced to the public that Uzumaki Naruto had indeed been killed and that his funeral would be held the following day. Needless to say that the non-Shinobi populace was more than thrilled with the news of the Jinchuriki demise and celebration parties were already in the making. The day of the funeral was, ironically a on a sunny, cloudless day. _'Even the Gods seem to mock this young man,' _thought almost everyone that attended that funeral, most if not all being Shinobi. Sarutobi stood before them all as he began the day of mourning.

"Fellow Shinobi," he began, "I come before you to mourn the loss of one of this villages most heroic, noble, and kind Shinobi to ever grace this village; even greater then all the Hokage's."

Everyone in the younger generation gasped at this proclamation, while some of the older generation nodded in agreement. _'How could such an obnoxious, clumsy, unimportant person like Naruto be greater then our protectors and finest?' _wondered all the Genin and some Chunnin.

Sarutobi turned so that his back was facing the mourners as he looked upon the picture of Naruto that was placed in exchange for his body; gathering his thoughts as well as recomposing himself. The picture was one of the few where Naruto's infamous 'clown' mask had been dropped. His smile was small and slightly sad, and his eyes, if you looked closely, had little of their usual sparkle in them. His face looked more mature appearance then it usually did because of the lack of the large smile that up most of his face. If one was to look into the scores of mourning men and women, not only would they see teary eyes, but also some blushes at seeing how handsome the young blond truly was.

"And in commemoration of this heartbreaking occasion, I shall repeal the law I had placed on this young man thirteen years ago. The law that stated that no one could speak to the younger generation that the Nine-Tailed Demon Lord that attacked our home those thirteen years ago was not killed but sealed within his navel by his very own father, the Yondaime Hokage!" Sarutobi ended proclaiming the news to the heavens.

Many more gasps were heard, mumbles and whispers soon followed only to be silenced by piercing eyes of 'The God of all Shinobi' as he turned to them.

"Yes, Uzumaki Naruto held the Nine-Tailed because his father could not think of asking someone else to scarifice their own child to live such a cursed life, since a Demon Lord cannot be killed. Namikaze Minato, Naruto's father, wished for his son to be seen as a hero. Unfourtunately, that was not meant to be. Once word reached the public the Nine-Tailed was sealed within a child, they instantly asked for the childs death; four assassination attempts were within the first hour of the laws creation-" he was interupted in his speech as Hinata fell to her knees, holding herself and openly weeping.

Some one had tried to kill her Naruto, treated him badly and overall hated him for no reason How could someone, who went through all that, come out so resilient, optimistic and still have a positive out look on life, she wondered through the tears. The area around her darkened and when she looked up she saw none-other then the Hokage standing before her, a sad smile of understanding on his face. He kneeled down to her and encompassed her in a comforting embrace; allow her to weep into his white robes. This seemed to be the sign for the rest of the mourners, as they all, either silently or openly, wept for the young Jinchuriki.

XxXxX End Flashback XxXxX

Hinata never accepted that Naruto had died. Some said that it was denial on her part but something, deep within her own soul, said that he was alive; getting more and more powerful by the day. So for the past four years she trained herself into the ground day and night, and became one of the only Kunoichi that could claim to be the Godaime Hokage's apprentice

"_Every one of the rookie's have grown so much since then" _Kurenai thought "_It's just a shame he had to die to show them that they weren't invincible like they all thought they were."_

"Come on we should go. We'll make sure to visit his grave before we leave" Kurenai spoke while moving to the bridge, to which the other three just nodded. Just before Hinata left with the rest of her team she gently placed her hand on the plaque; a silent promise to herself that she would find him and bring him to a loving family and friends.

XxXxX

As the group entered the village they saw that in the four years since the wave mission, the village had clearly prospered and changed greatly. No longer were children begging for any scraps of food they could get, but instead they were playing like normal children should; laughing and joking. The shops were booming, and there seemed to be a great amount of visitors in the village. Obviously the bridge has done its job and brought wave out of poverty.

"A-ano, where are we staying?" Hinata asked.

"We'll be staying with a family that lodged Kakashi's Team four years ago, a man called Tazuna, his daughter Tsunami and his grand son Inari. Were suppose to meet him at the village hall," Kurenai replied as they made their way to the town square.

"Ok," the students said as they followed her, astonished that this village had been on the verge of an economic collapse four years prior.

"Are you sure this is where we are suppose to meet him Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked while scanning the horizon for any signs of Tazuna.

"Yes Kiba, this is where we are to meet him" came the reply but it was clear that Kurenai was not paying attention. Instead she was focused on the modest statue that was dedicated to, what seemed to be Naruto and another men that stood in the center of the town square.

"Well I wish he'd hurry up he's nearly as bad as Kakashi," Kiba grumbled as he crossed his arms and took a seat next to a lamppost, Akamaru currently with the other part of his team, inspecting the memorial statue.

"Did someone say Kakashi?" an elderly man with small spectacles asked while approaching the group.

"Yes, and who might you be?" Shino asked quietly.

"My names Tazuna, and I'm guessing you're the Team I'm suppose to be meeting," he question taking time to point his finger at each individual.

"Hai. I'm Yuhi Kurenai, and these are my students. This is Hyuga Hinata..." Kurenai said while pointing out Hinata "...This is Aburame Shino..." she said while gesturing Shino "…And finally this is Inuzuka Kiba and his companion Akamaru." She finished while pointing out Kiba and Akamaru.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Tazuna said with a small smile on his face. "Now if you'd follow me I'll show you to where you'll be staying." With this said he started heading back down the road in the direction he had come from.

After a short 5-minute walk through the village they stopped outside a relatively large house. Granted it wasn't as big as the clan houses back in Konoha, but by all accounts it was large for civilians. Seeing the shocked faces on his guests Tazuna couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips, but he still explained to them.

"I'm guessing that you thought we'd still lived where Kakashi's Team stayed?" seeing them nod he continued, "After the bridge was finished, Wave Country's economy boomed, and since then me and my family have been quite well off. Now I do believe dinner should be ready, so come on in," He said while opening the door and stepping inside with the others following closely.

They entered into what seemed to be a fairly large hallway. The hallway floor was a deep mahogany wood, which looked like it had been recently varnished. There was a medium sized cream rug at the base of the stairs. The walls were painted a pale cream, with pictures hung on them. To the left of the doorway there was a simply mahogany shoe rack.

Walking to the door on the right hand side of the hallway Tazuna motioned for the others to follow him, which they did after removing their sandals of course. The room they entered next was obviously the living room however it appeared to be a conjoined dinning room if the table in the far side of the room was anything to go on. Again the room was large, with deep mahogany floors. And again the walls were painted a pale cream however the wall opposite the door was painted a light mocha color. This wall also had a large fireplace with a fire blazing. There was a small coffee table surrounded by 2 chairs and a large couch.

Tazuna motioned for the group to relax as he headed into a room at the other end of the living room. Akamaru immediately curled up in front of the blazing fire, while the others sat on the chairs and couch.

"We'll start searching first thing in the morning. It's been a long trip so we should rest first." Kurenai told the others while relaxing into the chair. Her response was a course of 'Hai' from her students.

"Well it seems dinner will be ready in about half an hour" Tazuna said while reemerging in from the door he left from, followed by a young woman

"This is my daughter, Tsunami. She'll show you to your rooms."

While following the young woman up the stairs Team 8 came across a young boy, who must have been about 12 years old, while he was coming out of what must have been his room.

"Inari, these are the Shinobi that'll be staying with us" Tsunami said toward the now named boy.

"Eh? Oh hi mum, pleasure to meet you," Inari said with a small bow to the group. "I'm off to go train now mum but I'll be back for dinner."

"Ok but dinners in half an hour," replied Tsunami before Inari disappeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Training? What's he training for?" Kiba asked as they followed their host.

"Well Inari saw Naruto as an older brother and ever since then he's been training to go to the academy. He knows he's older than most of the students but he promised Naruto and himself that he would, and he always says that keeping his word is his Nindo." Tsunami said while continuing up the stairs. "We only have 2 spare rooms, so you'll have to share. There are two beds in each, you should settle in and I'll get you when tea is ready" she said while stopping in front of two doors

"Right Kiba and Shino will share, as will Hinata and I."

XxXxX Couple of miles from Wave XxXxX

"When do we strike?" asked a cloaked figure.

"We'll attack after dark, " came the reply.

"Why can't we just strike now?" he asked.

"Because they'll be able to see us. After dark we'll be able to easily deal with the militia," answered the second man growing more and more irritated; spending a multitude of weeks traveling with men that asked those questions constantly could do that to you.

"Fine, at least we'll get a good amount of money and women," the first man said in a huff as he began to spread the word through out the troop. The man watched as he hopped form tree to tree to inform the other invasioners with a slight shake of his head, which caused the tree branch he was kneeling upon to groan under his immense weight.

This was a simple delivery mission; cause a raucous in the village, contact the Shadow Fox, give him the proposition scroll from the Raikage and go home. Simple as that, but now he had to deal with these greenhorns that were called Kumo Shinobi that only thought of getting paid and getting laid; it made him _sick._ The large man, a veteran of the last Shinobi War, had seen Shinobi die in combat over lesser things.

With another shake of his, the large Kumo Jounin leaned his head against the truck of the tree to catch a few 'Z's' before the 'invasion', knowing full well that something bad was going to happen, and those greenhorns were going to be the cause of it.

XxXxX

After having dinner Team 8, Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari made their way towards the living room in order to relax as well as to plan on how to complete their missions objective.

"What exactly are you doing here? Not that we want to get rid of you or anything but why would you come to wave?" Tazuna asked to Team 8

"A-ano, we were sent to look for the Shadow Fox," came Hinata's shy response. Even through all the physical and mental renovations she had undergone, she still could not forgo the stutter in every sentence that she spoke.

"So why would that bring you to wave? Unless the rumors of him being Waves guardian are true," Tsunami said skeptically.

"Well since the only thing known of him is that he has been sighted in Wave a couple of times, we believed here to be a good place to start searching." Kurenai answered as she took a sip of tea that Inari had just set on the coffee table.

"Why do you want to find him?" Tsunami asked retrieving a cup from the table as well.

"We have a scroll from Hokage-sama to deliver to him," Kurenai said.

After another 20 minuets of idle chitchat, Inari stood up and headed to the door, his demeanor changing to a solemn one in spite of the joyous atmosphere the living room gave off.

"I'm off out mum," he said as he gripped the doorknob.

"Ok but try to be back soon, it's getting dark out," she replied and to which Inari nodded.

"Where are you going?" Kiba asked.

"To visit Nii-san," he replied while closing the door.

"Nii-san?" Kiba said obviously confused, voicing the question that arose in all of Team 8's mind from the proclamation.

Tazuna saw his confusion and decided to enlighten the boy, "He means Naruto."

"Oh," was all Kiba said as he returned to nurse his teacup.

Hinata instantly took notice in this tidbit of information and turned towards Kurenai. The scarlet-eyed woman gazed at the lavender eyed young lady and, with a nod of her head, gave permission for Hinata to follow. Her eyes lit up dramatically, and with a frantic bow of thanks she bolted out the door.

Kiba grinned maliciously in his mind. _'Now's my chance,'_ he thought as he got up to follow. The past fours years had not gone as planed for the Inuzuka heir; in fact they were downright disastrous. He had intended for Hinata to be his shortly after Naruto's death by being her shoulder to cry on, what surprised him was that Hinata didn't cry at all. Had the fanatic crush on the blonde just been a phase, he had wondered. That evaluation was shattered when he asked her out on a date the very next only to receive a strong punch in the face followed by an even more powerful kick in-between the legs.

Ever since then Hinata had kept her distance from him as well as most of the other Kunoichi that were in the academy class. Kiba tried time and time again to 'win' her heart, one instance almost costing him his career, but to no avail.

Slowly he rose from his seat and made his ways towards when something firm gripped his arm. Turning Kiba saw that it was Shino that was gripping his arm with a vice like grip at that. Slowly he shook his head indicating that he should not follow.

Shino knew why Kiba had almost lost his career as a Ninja; hell his was one of the ones that walked in on it after all. If it wasn't for Hinata as well several other key members of the village the dog like man would be dead right now, ten times over. Unfortunately Hinata swore all those that knew of the incident to secrecy so none of the so-called 'Rookie Nine' knew of it. After that incident he had been the self-proclaimed protector of Hinata for, similar to Hinata, Shino also felt that Naruto was not dead. In his belief Naruto was the only man good enough for Hinata and vice versa. In fact, even though he would never say it out loud, Shino believed that Naruto deserved more than one woman for all he had to go through and he knew that the energetic blond, for the life of him, would never treat any of them badly.

His grip on the Inuzuka's wrist grew. "Kiba," he began quietly, "haven't you been mediating as Kurenai-sensei instructed?"

Kiba suddenly began to sweat as he felt the heated glare from his Sensei. When it came to something she assigned, Team 8 learned that you better get it completed fast, or at least hide the evidence well. Before anyone could blink Kiba was in the lotus position, meditating; thoughts of his own safety greater than his quest for Hinata.

XxXxX

"What are you doing here?" Inari asked.

It had taken several minutes of walking for Hinata to catch up to Inari

"I'd like to pay my respects to Naruto-kun if you don't mind," Hinata replied quietly.

"I thought everyone from Konoha hated Naruto-Nii-san," Inari all but spat venomously.

Hinata visibly cringed, "No I could never hate Naruto-kun. Why would you think that anyway?"

"Well Nii-san said that everyone from Konoha hated him, although he never said why."

"Not every one hated him." Hinata responded in a voice barely above a whisper "I can tell you right now that I never hated him. He was someone very special to me. He's _still_ very precious to me"

Inari didn't know what she meant by that and as seconds past of her not meeting his gaze he dropped it. After a short silence between the two they found them selves in a small clearing. On the other side of the clearing was a single headstone. As Hinata approached it she could see the headstone was marble; clearly the villagers had spared no expense for Naruto On the headstone there was two lines engraved upon it, which read;

'_Here lies Uzumaki Naruto. Resting in the lands he gave his life for.'_

For about 20 minuets there was silence in the clearing as they paid their respects. When Inari chose to leave to go home Hinata had said she was going to stay a bit longer, but would come back soon, to which Inari nodded and left her alone.

When she was alone Hinata finally released her tears and gently place a hand on the stone.

"There was so much I wanted to tell you Naruto-kun before you left, but I was afraid; afraid that you wouldn't feel the same. I thought that if I was patient then I could finally work up the courage to tell you…but I guess I left it too late." Hinata spoke softly in an almost unheard whisper with a lowered head, "I wanted to tell you that I loved you…that I always loved you. I'm so sorry Naruto-kun…If only I had said something sooner, we could have been together."

But she was far from done. She sent her piercing gaze towards the heavens and proclaimed a loud, commanding voice, "But I will find you, everyone may believe that you have passed on but know you haven't!" she gripped her heart almost as if in pain. "I will trek this earth to find you my Love, for you cannot hide from me! I will bring you home, and if you are indeed dead," tears once again flowed for a brief time, "then I will trek to heaven and Hell and DRAG you soul back!" she ended screaming to the afore mentioned places.

After another couple of minuets of heavy panting, she regained her breath. She smiled fondly at the head stone before she placed her hand on it, stroking it lovingly. "Until we meet again my Love…" she whispered and turned to leave.

XxXxX

If she had been on guard she would have sensed the figure in the tree directly above her and the head stone. A tear dripped down his face at the proclamation of the girl he thought as timid, dark, and weird. No one would see those tears because of the snarling, ANBU-esque, fox mask that hid both his face and his hair. As quickly as the tear had fell it was gone, never to fall again.

"Hi-na-ta," the figure spoke raggedly, as if not having spoken for some time.

An earth-shattering explosion interrupted his thoughts of the long navy blue haired Hyuga woman. His head whipped towards the source of the explosion; the village's town square. A beast-like growl escaped his lips as he raced off towards those who dared threatened his territory. "These fools never learn."

XxXxX

So what do you think; good, bad, UGLY?! Please send any feed back you want, but please let it be nice… also ideas are 'welcome' but don't think that they be taken into account to seriously.

Anyway review and see you soon!** MOO!!**


	2. Enemy

A.N.: I…own…nothing…T.T

XxXxX Enemy XxXxX

The explosion tore through the woods, signaling the attack upon the Wave Village. Hinata, having just exited the forest and being on the quarter mile walk back to the Tazuna household and her team, instantly reentered the forest at a break neck speed. The quickest way to the village was directly through the forest and a normal civilian would be there in less then fifteen minutes; for an Elite Jounin of the Konohagakure Village that time would be cut in fifths.

Quickly dropping into the Jyuken, or 'Gentle fist', stance she managed to block multiple volleys of air born kunai as they were sent at her from deep within the foliage. It seemed that the attackers were many and well organized as more kunai and shuriken were sent towards her from many different angles. They were well aimed and could only be the work of Shinobi.

Quickly the attackers slinked from the tree's shadows to reveal one the things that Hinata truly disliked; Kumo Shinobi, the Shinobi from the village that ruined her life as well as the lives of the most precious people in her life. Clad in black and gray, colors similar to the Sound uniform, only in the design that was reminiscent of the Leaf's Jounin attire; vest with scroll pockets across the chest, long sleeve turtle neck shirt and pants lined with deep pockets for equipment.

One would think that Hinata would hate these men for what had happened thirteen years ago but surprisingly she did not. It was the career of a Shinobi, no matter the village, to follow the orders of their leaders, and therefore the missions that were given to them. Even Hinata had taken part in missions that would be looked at as immoral, cynical, and overall evil; but they had to be done. So she did not look at the Kumo Shinobi in hatred as she continued to dodge their Kunai and returning fire when she could, no she pitied them and hated their superiors.

Tsunade had always given the Shinobi of Konoha ethical missions, ones that did more good than harm. All major mission requests, such as assassinations and personnel eradication, were thoroughly screened. Being that Konoha was highly respectable, most missions that were requested were 'clean'.

She was knocked to the ground viciously from an attack from behind, and forced out of the forest and into the edge of the village. Hinata saw what could only be described as a swarm of over two hundred Kumo Ninja entering the village as she raised herself from off the ground. Shaking off the feeling of dizziness that had formed with her impact she heard what sounded like metal clashing. Glancing to her right she saw the Ninja engaging the village's militia, and it appeared the militia were losing…badly.

'_But this was far too many Ninja for a simple attack,'_ Hinata mused as she activated her Byakugan since it had not been activated do to Chakra consumption. She gasped as she saw that all of the 'Ninja' were actually an assortment of Water Clones, Mud Clones, Earth Clones, and even Shadow Clones.

Seeing an opportunity to strike some near by Clones Hinata quickly launched herself off of the and into the middle of the action, and with quick, well aimed strikes she managed to disperse a couple of her adversaries. After witnessing her kill two of their comrades so easily the Clones quickly moved to surround her. Attacking with swords, daggers, and kunai, the Clone's swung their weapons wildly, slashing and thrusting with almost no particular skill.

Hinata easily blocked or evaded the attacks; after all, she wasn't a Chunnin for nothing. Seeing that their attacks weren't working and that Hinata had managed to knock out another 3 Clones, the rest of the Clones started launching kunai and shuriken towards her.

Because she was surrounded Hinata knew there was no way to evade the bombardment, so she began to spin while releasing a large amount of Chakra and with a cry of "**Hakke: Kaiten**" formed a protective dome that deflected all the incoming projectiles.

The Clones were stunned, obviously this was the first time they had witnessed the Kaiten, seizing the opportunity Hinata charged forward and with well-placed strikes began cutting down all the Clones in her path. However she was caught of guard when a bone crushing right hook connected with her jaw sending her hurtling into the side of yet another building.

Slowly rising to her feet she began to face her attacker and saw a well-built man of 6'8; he had short onyx hair that was greased back, well-trimmed goatee, and what could be thought of as a kindly face, something she did not expect to see from a Kumo Shinobi. Settling into the 'Gentle fist' Hinata prepared herself for her opponent when she was struck from the side with a roundhouse kick that sent her stumbling forward. Activating her Byakugan she saw that she was surrounded by what looked like five other Kumo Shinobi. She observed that these Shinobi were the actual article, as they did not act as rigidly as all of the other Clones.

Seeing one of her opponents, the kindly faced man, flashing through hand signs she prepared to begin the Kaiten. When he had finished performing the hand signs the Kumo Shinobi announced his attack:

" **Lightning Release: Thunder Wave!"**

Hinata quickly performed her clans prized **Kaiten**, but was sent flying being that the enemy Shinobi's attack was sound based. She skidded through the village streets for several yards until she came to a stop before she could collide with the memorial statue in the center of the Town Square. Shaking she rose to her feet and turned to run from the enemy Shinobi, seeing as how she was clearly no match for them with or without her teammates and Sensei, when she came to an abrupt stop.

There before her was the statue that depicted Naruto, oddly enough the statue seemed to be looking right at her, no, right at through her to her soul. Suddenly images and visions of how her Love over came impossible odds swept through her like a mighty gust of strong wind, causing her eyes to harden and her resolve to be set.

_Mask…pain…SCARS…_

These men were harming innocent civilians for a reason that could not be confirmed yet, and she could not allow this. Naruto had fought for this place and so shall she, for her Naruto. She swept around, eyes blazing and faced her opponents.

"Well look here, she's a Hyuga," spoke a gangly looking Chunnin, "It seems that we've got the Heavens smiling upon us today bo-"

The Ninja never got to finish his boasting due to being slammed into by a "**Tsuga**" courtesy of Kiba.

"Sorry we're late," Kiba said while standing in front of Hinata, shortly being joined by Akamaru at his right and Kurenai his left.

XxXxX Flash Back: Kiba Kurenai and Shino XxXxX

After feeling a massive explosion rip through the village Kurenai, Kiba and Shino quickly raced to find out what was happening. They had also decided to take the forest route as well and came upon the same 'road block' as Hinata did. Fortunately, Shino had sent his insect allies out as they ran into the forest so that he would be warned, as well as his Team, to where and how many enemies were near them. The bugs, seeing that all the intruders were Clones of some sort, quickly drained all of the offending Clones of their Chakra and eventually causing them to dispel. This made their trip much quicker, Chakra efficient, and less hazardous. Upon arriving at the center of the village they were greeted by the sight of the villages militia engaging the small Clone army.

"**Gatsuga**" Kiba yelled while him and Akamaru cut through several of the Clones, signaling Kurenai and Shino to join in the small war as well.

"**Magen: Jubaku Satsu**" Kurenai said making several trees appear from the ground binding several of the Clones, then using a kunai she began dispelling them.

There was a hail of shuriken thrown towards the three, however they never impacted thanks to a quick "**Mushi Kabe No Jutsu"** courtesy of Shino. Suddenly there was a massive Chakra spike that they all knew was caused by the use of an extremely powerful Kaiten. Shino signaled for his two teammates to go on ahead and that he would take care of the 'clean up' at this point.

Kiba quickly agreed, knowing that without Shino there, he would be able to capture Hinata with his, quote, 'Mad Skillz', unquote. Kurenai also agreed, not knowing Kiba's hidden agenda.

Unbeknown to either of the Shino's two teammates, Shino had other plans as he sensed an opposing figure. He calmly gazed up onto the rooftop of a near by building and glimpsed a figure bathed in the light of near by fires.

Rushing towards the position the spike came from Kiba and Kurenai arrived to see Hinata beginning to face the six assorted Kumo Shinobi. Kiba wasted no time, much to his teacher's irritation, and launched towards the man with a cry of "**Tsuga**", without even hearing or caring of what the man said.

XxXxX Shino XxXxX

He casually approached the cloaked figure with anxiety. This man before him, all clad in black, could only be the Shadow Fox. Gently he continued to inch closer until he stood directly beside him, without the stoic being taking any heed of his very existence. Wondering what the Shadow Fox found so interesting out beyond the roof, Shino gazed towards the area that he seemed to be viewing. It was the Town Square where Hinata, Kiba and Kurenai stood poised for battle.

"They will die," the light tenor voice of the Fox drifted over to Shino.

Shino said nothing deciding to watch the turn of events in the Square.

Kiba seemed to have rushed a large black haired Jounin, and was swiftly thrashed into the ground by the latter mans fist. Kurenai jumped back as Hinata jumped forward and began performing hand seals for some kind of Jutsu, but was interrupted by one of the Kumo Shinobi as he thrust a dangerously spiked hammer aimed for her abdomen.

Shino's eyes widened, but not from the battle unfolding before them, his eyes had widened from the information that he had just received from the insect he had place on the Fox when he had first jumped atop the roof. Slowly he turned to the man beside him and took in his appearance, not believing his ally.

He had on Black combat boots, and tight black pants that had pockets all over them. He also wore a deep red long sleeve muscle shirt and over that he wore a black vest. A pitch-black ANBU mask with blood red markings in the shape of a fox adorned his face allowing no one to see his identity or his hair as strange plate-like scales from the top of his head along the back of his neck. The grinning/snarling mask disturbed Shino since the painting of the mask seemed to have been done by an insane painter as the lines of paint dripped and 'bled' from the eyes, nose and mouth. His vest had the Kanji for 'Shadow Fox' in blood red on the left side just over his heart.

He opened his mouth but was quickly shot down by the finger that was placed in front of the Fox's own 'lips' signifying silence. Shino looked at him in shock but slowly nodded his head in acceptance, which he received a nod as well in thanks, he hoped, from the masked Fox.

A scream pierced the air causing Shino to whip towards the Square and tense. It seemed the now five Ninja, as one had been killed by one of Hinata's Gentle Fist strikes, all seemed to be weapons masters of some kind. A large thorned ball mace, a sturdy lance, a well-crafted katana, an oriental style set of twin daggers, and a rather large battle-axe lay within the hands of the Kumo Shinobi as they advanced towards Hinata. Shino easily discovered that the scream had come from Kurenai as she now lay unconscious near a lamppost in a growing pool of blood, she must of cried out in pain from the attack that rendered her unconscious. Kiba was also incapacitated near the memorial statue with several large and deep slashes littering his body, with a blood and whimpering Akamaru beside him. They crept closer to the winded girl like hungry predators ready for the kill, and with an unseen signal they converged upon their prey.

The sound of crushing stone came from Shino's right as the stone roof tile was reduced to a crater; the Shadow Fox was gone. Seconds later a clash of steel and wood upon an unmoving wall was heard and there stood the Shadow Fox in the center of all it all, blocking every one of the assorted weapons with one part of his body, as he protected Hinata.

XxXxX Flash Back: End XxXxX

The battle had gone downhill fast for the three members of Team 8; Kiba was knocked unconscious shortly after engaging the large axe wielder, Kurenai followed soon after into the land of darkness since she was unable to cast any strong enough illusions, and by some luck Hinata was able to kill the Kumo that wielded the spiked hammer, but that was just a lucky shot in her opinion.

Three years, that's how long she had trained herself into the ground and farther; with the help of her close friend Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, as well as a small raid of the Hyuga's private main branch library, that is. But yet this still did not help her defeat her slightly cynical cousin, Neji, it was as if they would always stay on two different planes of existence no matter what she tried to do. The last fight they had fought had put her in the hospital for more then a month and a half under intensive care, but their first match had taken the cake.

It had been during the Chunnin Exams less than two months after Naruto's death. Seeing that Hinata had over five different suicide attempts the Hokage as well as Kurenai were reluctant to allow her to participate but Hinata felt like she _needed_ to participate; she needed to show Naruto that she was strong, even though she did not tell the Sandaime Hokage or Kurenai this.

The first exam went off fairy well. Team 7 had acquired a new member named Sai; a pale skinned, quiet, sometimes rude individual. The other Teams mingled for a short time, most member staying a good distance away for her expect for Choji and Shino, thinking that she was mentally unstable and not wanting the 'insaneness' to rub off on them. The first exam was an information gathering portion and Hinata did rather well since she had the Byakugan. One thing that had bothered her during the duration of the exam was that the seat next to her was empty…but she quickly tried to take her mind off of it. It was just a seat…right?

Anyway once it was announced they had completed and passed the first exam a rather…peculiar incident occurred. Its name was Anko. Hinata had thought that this individual was clinically insane when she had first met her but that quickly change when she had realized that this woman wore a mask just like her Naruto. They were instructed to meet at training area 44 in less than half an hour to being the next exam, before the mysterious psycho disappeared out of the window.

The second exam was a little more intense than the first. It was a survival test. Five days to acquire two scrolls and get to a tower at the center of the training field without looking within the scrolls. Team 8 had gotten both the scroll and reached the tower within the first day. While she was at the tower she had run into Kurenai as well as Anko of all people. Apparently Kurenai and Anko were close friends and Hinata forged a friendship with the eccentric female soon after.

The third exam was postponed much to the irritation of the contestants and a preliminary exam took its place. The basis was a one-on-one anything goes brawl and the winner was the last one standing. Most of the matches were fought well and Hinata was getting eager for her match…that is until she saw who she was to fight.

_Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata_

All of the confidence that she once had evaporated in that instance; her cousin, her _brother_, the prodigy of the Hyuga clan, even if the main branch would not acknowledge it, was her opponent.

To say the least, the match went to Hell rather quickly. Neji had decided to prey on her love for the dead blonde and nearly caused her to commit suicide right there on the spot…that is if it weren't for Anko. Having just over four days to talk to one another, and with Kurenai having other duties to contend with left Hinata in the 'care' of the snake mistress, Hinata soon found that Anko was much easier to talk to then Kurenai.

Anko was much similar to Naruto than she had thought and for some reason she had told her everything about her fascination as well as her love for the blonde Ninja. Anko sympathized with Hinata where Kurenai would tell Hinata it was time to move on. Anko revealed that she was one of the few ANBU that had watched over the young Jinchuriki and received a tear soaked hug from the Hyuga heiress as a weak thank you.

Before Hinata had time to harm herself, Anko's voice broke her of her tendencies. She spoke of Naruto how he would have fought on and, even if he were spat upon, he would grin and, in lack of a better word, say "Suck It" in a loud boisterous voice as he continued to kick his opponents rear…over and over again!

With her courage restored Hinata attacked, even in the face of insurmountable odds, and continued to attack until she was placed in a coma. If it had not been for Anko as well as Kakashi, Maito Gai, Hayate Gekko, and Kurenai, she would have surely been killed. Even though all the Jounin's had stopped the killing blow that Neji was about to inflict upon his cousin, they could not stop the heart attack that she had while she was on the preliminary arena's floor.

Anko and Kurenai quickly went to work on stabilizing Hinata. It was an unspoken rule in the Hidden Leaf Village that all Kunoichi have a general grasp on the healing arts and with Kurenai having excellent Charka control and Anko having met and learned under Tsunade to some extent, since Orochimaru would sometimes go on missions too advanced to the young mistress and leave her in the care of his teammate, they quickly stabilized the heiress until she could get to a hospital for proper medical attention.

The heart attack coupled with the intense internal damage and head trauma had placed Hinata in a coma for a span of two weeks and bed rest for more than four…or it would have been four if not for the Suna/Oto invasion during the third and final exam of the Chunnin Exams. The Konoha General Hospital, the hospital that Hinata was admitted into, was one of the main targets in the invasion; no doctors means no healing, and no healing means death to the injured enemy Shinobi's. The Sand and Sound assorted troops quickly converged upon the den of the sickly with only a hand full of Chunnin ranked Shinobi to defend it, needless to says they fell gallantly…

As the jackals prowled the inner corridors of the den they were not expecting an attractive, young Hyuga heiress to reside within it. Several of the Ninja quickly forwent the true objective to pounce on their new one, and as they told her that no one was to save her from their lust, she saw…_something_.

It was what she would call a premonition to this day.

It was of a man, garbed in black, wearing a snarling, sneering, _leering_ Fox mask covering his facial features as well as his hair. He seemed to be in horrendous pains as he stood there panting heavily as he gripped the back of a dining room chair to it shattered under the strain of his own hands. His clawed hand reached for his mask and in gripping it sent spider-webbed cracks all along its surface. A burst of condensed air poured from the sides of the mask as well as the plates hiding his hair receding, revealing blindingly golden blond hair.

The mask was quickly torn from his face and hurled across the room where it struck the opposing wall. Beneath the mask revealed elongated canines as well as piercing blue eyes and…_scarred cheeks!!_

XxXxX Flash Back: the Hospital XxXxX

The Hyuga heiress had put up quite a fight at the beginning but luckily she had accepted her fate, thought several of the Oto Nin's as they roamed her body with their hands. Beauties like this were not bred in Otogakure; they were all rouged and had no tact, like that Sound Five chick, Tayuya. But this one…just the thought of what lay beneath the paper-thin hospital gown made the men _salivate_! Porcelain flesh, larger than average bust size, Goddess like legs, and a virgin to boot!

Suddenly she gasped, causing several of the Shinobi to jump back a few feet. Not that the men were cowards, no of course, they were just _wary_ since she had caused three of their comrades to resort to Taijutsu only because of their Chakra being unreachable. As suddenly as she spoke she quieted back down, one of the Oto Shinobi grinned viciously as he continued to hold Hinata's arched figure, "Looks like she still got some spunk left in her. I love 'em when they're responsive!"

He lowered his head to bite her neck but was soon relieved of said head. The severed appendage struck one of the other eager Oto's in the gut and loose his breathe with a 'whoosh'. He too was silenced as his head left his shoulders.

The squad of Sound Nin's stood there in shock as stared at their would be victim. She panted heavily as if she had trained for three hours non-stop; sweat covered her brow, legs, arms, and breasts. Her face was downcast and her pale lavender eyes, foreshadowed by you neck length indigo hair. The Oto Shinobi slowly began to inch towards the she-devil, being cautious not to loose their footing on the blood soaked linoleum floor.

Her panting suddenly increased as more images paraded through her skull. Images of training under an invisible teacher, images of pain, of anger, of hatred, images of…_loneliness_… He was _alone_. Cut off form the rest of the world.

The scars! _Those scars_! The scars only one _man_ could possibly possess. _Whisker_ like _scars!_

A lone Oto Shinobi decided, that at that moment that he would once again commence in their previous game that involved the beautiful heiress. Lunging towards her he made a pass to incapacitate the girl, it would have been a success if she did not crush his skull with a well placed kick to the head that resulted in his flight through several cinder block enforced walls.

One man turned to her in horror and roared, "Why can't you just hold still and take what's coming to you!" a foolish and unintelligent outburst at best. Her gaze swiveled to him, and in extension the remained of what was an eight-manned Oto Ninja team. Her gaze froze the five men in their tracks and would haunt them all the way to Hell.

Her eyes were of insanity; one that had been pushed into a corner with no hope of escape only to be shown the largest opening that could possibly be made for safety. They shone with a light that made the men quake where they stood, and pulse with a darkness that chilled their hearts to the point of stopping. She was now the predator, and they the sacrificial lambs awaiting the slaughter.

Her steeled jaw that had been grinding in pain, brought on by the visions, broke into a maniacal sneer. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth coating her lips in a shade reminiscent of fresh strawberries or of glistening rubies. Her teeth flashed brightly like those of an archangel and her cheeks took on a slightly pink shaded hue, similar to her constant shy blush.

Her hair was slick with sweat and matted like the waves of a midnight sea, crashing and breaking like mighty tides. Her hair had seemed to take on a deeper shape of blue than before for a reason that the Shinobi could not place.

Her hospital gown had been torn asunder and was only capable of hiding her modesty to a limited degree. Her skin was also doused in a fine coating of sweat giving off an unearthly glow to her heavenly figure. With every subtle movement caused her body to bounce and sway in such a way that made her captor's drool and pant like abandoned street dogs. Just a little farther was their thoughts regarding that damned gown that was hanging off her frame.

In other words, she was the image of pure carnal desire, a panther that had been pushed onto the attack. Some would say that she was an angel sent from heaven to show them the nirvana that awaited them. While others saw in her the devil-temptress, pulsing and needy, capable of fulfilling your wildest dream in exchange for you soul, either way the end result would be the same for the entire squad of enemy Ninja…

Death.

"I can't hold still," her eyes shown even brighter, "I _won't_ hold still!" Her back hunched but the Goddess still remained shining brighter then any light in existence, her flesh swayed and jiggled as she spread her arms wide in emphases, "_He's still out there_!" Her melodious laughter rang through the Hospital. The men's faces flushed even more as she took a step forward, stalking them, "He's still out there alone, hurt, frightened, still in with the thoughts of the unloved…" her face broke out in a heart broken pout that made the men weak in the knees. But her predatory sneer returned, her eyes Heavenly pits of Hell. "He's _alive_!" She crouched and the men had to strain slightly to see the hidden rose, "And I'm coming for him!" barely a whisper, it escaped her lips.

She pounced upon the lambs…

And so the dance began, with the Oto Shinobi Hell bent on receiving the pleasure that was right and Hinata Hell bent on carving a path to her love, her Paladin, her Shinobi clad in white robes. They attacked her with no true battle plan, throwing sporadic punches here and there, and clumsy kunai thrusts.

One somehow got close enough to her and swung his fist towards her shoulder in hopes of disabling her instead of harming her, but was nearly knocked unconscious as she snaked around his outstretched arm and delivered a bone crushing left to the temple. Quickly another came at her with a blade drawn and slashed at her horizontally.

Hinata elegantly performed the splits, ducking beneath the slash. She rolled back onto her hands and, hand standing, rotated her hips, cutting down the surrounding enemies with a devastating helicopter spin kick. The men, distracted by the view of the temptresses bare flesh, fell quickly to the accelerating legs.

She jumped to her feet without a second thought and viewed her handy work; five mid-leveled Jounin Sound Shinobi knocked unconscious and now vulnerable. One began to stir. Hinata cocked her head to the side as she approached the downed man until she stood over his battered form, fascinated.

His eyes crack open only to be squeezed shut in pain from a broken jaw. This…she-devil had devastated one of Orochimaru's hand picked squads! How?! She wasn't even of Chunnin level yet and she had _destroyed _them. What drove her, empowered her, caused her to shed the once shy skin she wore when they had first captured her? She now stood over him, the blackening of the little light that filtered past his eyelids foretold as much. Maybe if he acted dead she would tire of him, like a mother bear or lioness? The darkness did not move. He cracked one of his eyes open just marginally but instantly they both flew open.

Her leg was now parallel to the opposing wall, her delicate flower clearly visible for all the world to see; such flexibility. How could she bend lik-

_CRACK_

The foot came down with earth shattering force. The Sound Nin had little hope of living as he plummeted through three floors of the Hospital to, ironically, land in an empty morgue table in the basement. The other Sound were also to their feet now, if only by will power alone, with wide frightful eyes. Why does their fear sate her so, yet make her hunger grow even more?

Her legs flashed into motion; their feet backpedaled. Her claws rose; their arms shook. Her grin grew; their screams silenced.

_Scars!_

She knew why. They had almost taken her from her love; stole her form the world of the living. They had planned to defile her young body, where it was only her love's domain to cherish. They had ridiculed her and stole from her liveliness; he had given her a reason to thrive.

_They…they….they…_

_Enemy….Enemy…ENEMY…_

They were her enemies, her opposition, her roadblock to her love; her salvation and reason. They had invaded her home, _his_ home, and began to harm her loved ones, _his_ loved ones and family.

_Enemy…Enemy…Enemy…_

They, the enemy, were to pay, and pay dearly they would.

By now the Sound Shinobi in charge of purging the Hospital had fled to the main street. Hinata, having lost them for only a moment, during her revelation, catapulted herself out of the third floor window.

The wind caught her wings and for a brief, fleeting moment, she saw him atop his Fathers head. The mask was still in place but no longer was his back hunched in pain and agony, no longer his breathe shortened. He stood above all protecting, caring, _and loving_! He stood there his head held high; five phantom specters lined behind him silent and kind.

Legs bent, her knees collided with the back of one of the fleeing Sound Ninja; snapping his spine and giving him a gracious and painless departure. Much more then he deserved she observed. The others of the squad quickly skid to a stop as they faced the lioness that had been hunting and pick them apart.

She had taken their three strongest amongst them out with surprising ease, one being their commanding officer, and two others, one just now. What was she? Their thoughts quickly focused as she focused upon them; eyes like poison dipped daggers. Since she had followed them out into the open there was little to no chance that she would let them go, so their next option would be to see if they could get some reinforcements just by causing a big enough of a scuffle. With a nod they converged once again on the Hyuga heiress, but she was ready for their demise.

She skittered past one punch; they seemed to be taking her seriously would have been a rational thought that she would have had if she had not been running on divine and brief insanity. A swift kick to the ribs caught her off guard but she quickly trapped the leg and crushed it between her knee and her elbow. The man howled in pain and tried to escape but his body offered to efficient a shield to be thrown away. Hinata used his crippled form to intercept three incoming shuriken, and, tossing the corpse lightly into the air, grabbed its legs and batted an incoming attacker away like a fly.

The commotion of the battle had attracted some attention, but not the attention that the doomed men had been hoping for. In a frozen stupor, Anko stood watching the crazed, yet affective, teen decimate her opponents. This could not be the same girl that had almost killed herself because of some harsh words from her fate-insane cousin…was it? Her movements wasted nothing, no momentum, no purpose, and no effectiveness. She was a _devil_, a beautiful almost sensual devil of movement! The danced hypnotized her, quickened her heartbeat and caused her to sweat. These men, from what she could gather, were Jounin class and many, 'How?' was all she could comprehend. The last fell, choked by his own severed right arm. Hinata gently rose from her newly claimed victim smiling happily.

The enemies…they were defeated. The enemies. The enemies…

She looked to the sky and aired her wings. What a _glorious_ feeling. Oh the _symphony_, the crashing of the cymbals and the trilling of the flutes. Oh, the quivering violins and the boisterous brass. The swaying of reeds and the explosions of the percussion! Play, oh yes, _play_ for me! Sing of your _sorrows_ and of your _joys_. Of your _hate_ and your _happiness_! But of all else sing of your _love_! Yes the love that pushed the sun and moved the moon! Sing for me!

Her reverie was interrupted by the stunned snake charmer coming into her peripheral vision, her face holding an open mouth of awe. Hinata slowly lowered her hands from the heavens and smile lovingly at the mistress, yet her eyes still pulsed with the aftermath of her insanity.

"Anko," she whispered swaying on her feet. Her decent was imminent, "He's…still out there…" she fell…

Anko was by her side in an instant cradling her blood-bathed body against her form. Anko was not one for excess emotions besides hatred, loneliness, and insanity, but in the few weeks that she had known the girl lying in her arms she had grown attached; a kindred soul so much like her own. The Hyuga heiress was all but hated by her clan for her kind and loving tendencies, and the snake mistress was hated just for living. Hated for something they had no control over.

Just like _him_…

"Who?" was her shaking question, her grip tightened exponentially. She had relieved to the young heiress that she too had harvested a crush on the blond Jinchuriki during her times of being his guard. He was the human that she had always wished and prayed to be, his smiles and sunny disposition had always warmed her frigid heart; shattered its constricting chains and brightening its Hellish darkness. Only one person could get Hinata this revved.

"_Him_," she pointed towards the monument before sleep took her gently and caressed her troubled mind.

Anko's head whipped to the monument, she almost caused herself whiplash. The Yondaime, she had pointed at the _Yondaime_! Why, _why_-

_Scars!_

XxXxX Flash back: End XxXxX

After that day Hinata and Anko would always be seen together. Kurenai tried to bring Hinata back to her, to the safety and security of _her_ world. She knew what kind of person Anko was, her life style and habits. Anko was nothing but a shameless flirt and board-lined alcoholic, something that Hinata should not expose herself to. Hinata needed stability, _responsible_ stability. Even though Kurenai never judged Anko because of Orochimaru, she did judge her on her life decisions, or lack there of.

Several weeks pasted, the funeral for the Sandaime Hokage was held and went, the new Hokage was soon instated, Tsunade of the Sannin. Hinata' s relationship with Kurenai was now as a comrade and nothing else.

Hinata was broken from her remembrance when she realized that all of the Kumo Shinobi's were before her. Since that incident she was never able to recreate the same destructive tendency that she had tapped into then. It seemed the conditions were never right, and at this particular moment she dearly wished that they could have. They stood poised to attack and without warning leapt upon their target.

Hinata braced for impact, but it never came, instead she was nearly blown off her feet by an earth-shattering explosion. Gingerly she opened her eyes to see something she never thought was possible. Before her stood a man garbed in all black except for his crimson vest, upon his face he wore-

_Scars… Mask…scars… _

Her eyes widened. No, this could not be! He was there, before her, yet it felt like a dream. But how could it be a dream; she felt the wind, the earth beneath her sandals, even the heat that was emanating from his very being. He was there! He was here!

He had some how caught all the offending weapons before they could strike their intended target. The mace, trapped beneath his foot like some sort of soccer ball, the lace, pinned under his right armpit, the sword, caught between two of his fingers, the axe, stopped by his other open palm, and the daggers, caught within his own flesh. He faced her now, mask shining in the moon light as the clouds of smoke drifted past.

"Ah, the Shadow Fox I presume?" asked the tall axe wielder. The Fox did not answer; instead he took in every contour of the Hyuga's face, every line, eyelash, and gleam. She had changed from so long ago.

"What do you want?" his voice was that of a tenor's, crisp ad clear leaving no room for contradiction. The Fox knew why they were there, like all those before them.

"We have a proposition for you."

Fox tilted his head only slightly to view the larger of the two, and he was indeed large. But it made no difference for the Fox; he had taken down much larger lambs.

"No."

Silence crept upon the field as the Cloud Ninja froze at the Fox's proclamation. No? How could he say no to the Hidden Could Village, second strongest in the world? He hadn't even heard them out, heard of their treasures, women and gold!

"Please at least hear us out," the large man, obviously the leader, tried to reason with the seemingly senile Fox. "There is much that the Cloud Village has to offer to one such as yourself."

"No," his tone was quiet barely audible.

There she was in front of him, an arms length away no less. Just a little closer…_closer_… In all honesty the girl before him had transformed into an extravagant woman, one that must have been sought after on a regular basis…poor unfortunate souls. In his prior life he was dense, but now…he saw, saw it all with wide unblinking eyes. Curves, _lips_, legs, _eyes_, breasts, _hair_, all with _unblinking_ eyes!

A flash of black, a scream of an Angel, the startled silence; Hinata was held captive!

_Enemy…Enemy…ENEMY …_

One of the Kumo Shinobi, the youngest by the looks of it, had grown tired of the insubordination and had decided to give the whole situation a push in the correct direction. With a sickening squelching sound he had torn his twin daggers form the Fox's back and catapulted himself over the Fox and brought his daggers to bear upon the damsel's throat, one on each major artery.

"Now you listen here you _freak_!"

_Freak…monster…DEMON…_

"You'll do as _we_ say!"

_Do…orders…ENEMY…_

"If you don't want anything _BAD_ to _happen_ to the _girl_!"

_Harm…maim…injure…ENEMY…_

Hinata could believe this was happening; not again… no, never again! The symphony. Had it? Oh yes it had begun anew. Now it had reached a crescendo, building upon the last measure and growing in intensity. Louder and louder they played, yes oh yes louder, LOUDER! The ringing, play for her, no _become_ her; empower her grace her with the madness! Oh the humanity, yes, oh God YES! The brass erupted with bone crushing accents. The reeds rose like the Horsemen stampeding, rending flesh, and causing war. The winds typhoon as it rose crushed the mountains side and utterly destroyed cities, tearing apart lives and leaving them with nothing. The percussion, oh how they exploded, oh the rubble, the fireworks…_the fireworks_!

"Do you trust me?"

Piano. Silence encompassed the orchestra. Why, why would he cause this to happen to her! It had finally returned, her Symphony of Destruction! After so long, so much searching why, wh-

"Do you trust me?"

Hinata looked towards the Fox before her. Did she trust him? "With my life…"

A silent nod, "Then close your eyes and cover your ears…" slowly the hands rose to her ears even as her capture screamed at her to cease, and before she cut herself off from the physical worlds she heard, "…and whatever you do, _**don't look**_!"

_Enemy…_

XxXxX End XxXxX

AN: Hello Readers! So what you think? I am extremely proud of this chapter and I hope you loved it just like I loved writing it. What's funny is that I never read AN's personally and here I am writing one…oh the irony! Anyway sorry for the long wait: I broke up with a girlfriend of 10 months, said ex-girlfriend won't stop call after telling her repeatedly to stop as well as many form my family telling her to stop, horrible viruses, and writers block is the reason for the postpone.

Anyway hope you like: please review if you want.

MOO!


	3. Kryptonite

Moo

For the record this story is a HAREM. Sorry for not clarifying that earlier.

Hello my dear readers and new readers, Evilsheeplordthatsaysmoo here and overjoyed that you continue, or start, reading my story. Sorry for the wait and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. Also by now you've probably realized that all of my chapters' names are song titles… You got a problem with that?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but rocks and sheep…both of which are very heavy.**

XxXxX Kryptonite XxXxX

Shino had followed the Shadow Fox into the Town Square mere seconds after the realization that he had entered the area. His insects whipped around him like an angry wind as he secured his two Cellmates and quickly moved them onto the roof top that he had been occupying, knowing that they would befall friendly fire if not taken care of; also their injures were slightly worsening do to lack of maintenance. He still could not believe what his Allies had informed him of. He chuckled lightly, the first time in what felt like eons, and the thought of his existence, or in better terms, _continued_ existence. Oh how he wanted to laugh until he cried, wept for the irony of it all…but last time something like that happened to him, he had been placed under intensive watch within a padded cell. Seriously can't someone be happy, no, _overjoyed_ once in their _bloody_ life!

Hell broke forth from its Godly shackles and the earth groaned under its trembling footsteps. The sky darkened, and flames that once blanketed the city were suffocated within seconds. The knees of the land buckled, its breath cut short, and its vision was blurred. With the sound of shattering glass, Shino's void-black sunglasses were obliterated from their position on his nose, his horror filled sea-foam eyes looked upon the Hellion that caused the earth to stagger. Some poor fool had angered the Fox, and now he bared his fangs to the world.

XxXxX

The ground beneath the Shadow Fox's feet warped and final gave under the pressure of the unadulterated intent to kill that he was letting off, causing him to stand within a rather deep crater. His head tilted downwards ever so slightly and the slits of his fox façade began to glow as well as smoke, leaving wisps of also crimson particles in the wake of his damning gaze. An all-consuming crimson aura cloaked his person like the flames of the netherworld as they licked the ground and the air, heated the weapons held prisoner to a blaring and throbbing red.

Powerful fangs indeed…

Mayhem broke out between the Kumo Shinobi once their youngest and newest member, Dagger, named after his weapon, took it upon himself to take the Hyuga hostage. In all honesty, the Hyuga was a lucky commodity that they had happened upon since their mission was only to draw out the Shadow Fox and give him the proposal scroll from their esteemed leader, the Raikage, so the lose of her would not be of any importance. Since the first and final failed attempt to gain the Byakugan, the Hidden Cloud Village council had shut down the retrieval program, that didn't mean that some the older, and some of the younger, Shinobi stopped the quest for the ancient eyes.

But it had seemed that taking the Hyuga hostage had been an _extremely_ _bad_ move for the once feared Death Angels of Kumogakure.

"Partial Mutation fifteen percent: Arm. Proximity: Torso."

With no warning whatsoever, an arm, no, a _bestial_ claw _erupted_ from the Shadow Fox's _chest_, the _exact center_ of his chest, and careened through the air until it latched onto the skull of the Cloud Ninja that was hold the dear Hinata hostage. The cloth of his vest was neither torn nor ripped, as it seemed that the claw was one with the cloth that hid his naked torso from prying eyes. Not one hair of the pale heiresses head was harmed as the claw soared past her left cheek, and, with her eyes closed, Hinata marveled at the soft fabric that was caressing her face. The boy's skull as all but obliterated instantly from the claw in mere seconds, it was as if the boy's head was made of tissue paper rather than bone. Yet not one drop of blood rained down upon the heiress of the Hyuga clan form, never was her navy hair tarnished and never was her fair skin blemished with the essential life fluid.

As the Fox's claw retracted in seconds, it brought with it the daggers of the would-be abductor between its fingers. By now the rest of the Death Angels had distanced themselves from the crazed Fox and had also retrieved their weapons in some way from their self made prison. Several of the remaining members of the squad were now swishing their killing tool back and forth, back and forth, back and forth…

A gurgled scream resounded from Mace as the their once swift allies, the daggers, found their way into his sternum and throat, their hilts still quivering from the sudden halt. Roars of vengeance came froth from the still working voice boxes and a clouded offensive was soon enacted. Sword and Lance quickly tore off towards the Shadow Fox's unprotected back, weapons at the ready and muscles coiled. Even as their roars met his ears, the Fox did not move, only tense his body harshly and mutter something under his breath.

Just as the sword and the lance were about to pierce the young Fox's flesh and destroy his being, two distinctively familiar arms shot out of his back and rendered the attacks useless. With a swift jerk, the offending weapons were torn from their masters' grasp and impaled said masters upon their masts.

Gently the Fox tilted his head until his blaring eyes focus on those of the commanding officer of the delivery mission, Ax. The wisps of smoke and smell of sulfur intensified as a growl grew from the Fox's throat and grew, and grew. His invisible eyes swiveled in their pitch sockets and bore holes within the frightened man, the last of his kind, before him. Oh how sweet his blood would taste, he mused.

Like the phantoms of time before them, the claws of malice slipped back into their homes of nothingness. Clattering to the ground the once proud weapons of the Death Angels' fell, whispers of the dead sang once again in the land of Wave. But the resting place of the deadly weapons was not quite chosen yet as they found a new Master to wield them for the time being. The claws of malice once again took form but this time they took their form right underneath the two already existing arms. Stooping low, the Shadow Fox retrieved the fallen weapons in one of his grips, either it being clawed and monstrous, or fair and human.

Hammer in his human left grip.

Sword in his clawed right grasp.

Mace in his right hand.

Lance in his left claw.

Before Ax now stood a beast of such strength that he shook in his boots with such ferocity that pebbles beneath his shoes bounced and giggled at his fright. How had a simple mission such as this gone so horribly wrong? How could this one… _child_ take down fighters that were on par with the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? The snake of horror coiled strongly, cutting off all air to his mind, his body, his very _soul_. Oh how he hated it, _hated it_. Loathed this feeling to the point of murder. How he wanted to slit his own throat for even conceiving such an emotion within his own being, how he wanted to run from his once proud figure and spit on its crippled and beaten form. His Shinobi pride quickly gripped the viper by its head and crushed it within its Cyclopian grasp and crushed its squeezing coils with its might hammer. No longer would this boy cause him fear.

Tilting his head to this side like some type of woodland creature the Shadow Fox spoke, "Are we having fun yet?" His newly required weapons fanned out giving him the appearance of a Demonic Arachnid.

Axe looked upon his tormentor with pure hatred and wrath, "Silence, _boy_!" He hefted his mighty ax from upon his shoulder and into a stance. What was remarkable was that the blade of the axe was little more than two meter in length, a meter from the shaft to its point, and nearly three centimeters thick, weighing nearly two hundred pounds, yet the man hefted it like it was a boys wooden pretend sword.

No sooner had his stance been take did the mad Fox attack. His thrusts, jabs, swings, and blows were all at a mediocre level at best and the seasoned Ax was able to block, reflect, and dodge each and every one of the sloppy attempts on his life. Ax nearly laughed at this display, "So the great Shadow Fox is nothing more than parlor tricks?" His bellowing statement ground the battle to a screeching halt.

Swirling mud and bubbling earth began to churn near were Hinata kneeled forgotten. Twisting forth from the Lords footstool vines burst forth, mixed with earth and stone it formed an exact replica of the mad Fox. The pale lavender-eyed woman was soon lifted gently into the arms of the Clone, giving her her first contact from the outside world in over three minutes. His arms were strong yet not suffocating, his warmth blazing but it never burned.

She sighed blissfully.

"Parlor tricks you say…" Once again, the knees buckled and the joints groaned. Serpents lit up the sky where mere moments ago, no clouds hung. Nature itself seemed to bend to his will.

His form seemed to become more bestial still and the snake of self doubt re-grew its crushed head, but no longer was it a mere snake…but the hydra of fright and horror. One head for fear, another for spite, a third for horror, and a fourth for misery. More and more, countless more grew and mutated until his very being had become the den of his self-made monster. Each one of Ax's appendages were restrained by the Hydra's heads, their fangs digging deep into his marrow, feeding their venom into him with no hope of a cure.

Upon him, the Fox pounced, his fangs sharper than any Hydra's. The lance was the first to strike, impaling the poor mans right lung and forcing Ax to continue to stand as it tore through his back and propped him up like some kind of figurine stand. Next came the mace, crushing his legs into gravel and shredding his legs like cardboard. Following closely, the sword lopped off his right arm with a swift upwards stroke, and releasing Ax's weapon of choice from his person for all eternity. And finally the hammer ground his left elbow into dust.

The once great Ax lay defeated, his body no more than a broken marionette of Kumo.

Steady calculated steps were heard from the Shadow Fox's boots. _Tak tak_. The once grand weapons of the Death Angels slipped from his grasp, their usefulness had come to an end. _Tak tak_. Now a new weapons usefulness was born like that of a fresh lamb in a winter field. _Tak tak_. Closer and closer. _Tak tak ta_k. Could this one be indeed the one he had been hunting for? _Tak tak tak…_ Naked palms caressed bone-chilling wood and stone. With a grunt, a groan, and a huff the ax was lifted into the cool nights air. The insane grin of the Fox shone with such great intensity that the moon bowed its head to its brilliance.

For three years, three long unforgiving and Hellish years, the hunt for the one weapon to complete his style had been waged. A crusade over the countries for training and understanding, for allies and for enemies. Three years, that's how long he had been training in that one style, a style that could only be master after thirty-two years of training. The time of his mastery was coming to an end at only three years. This weapon would be the spearhead to his assault and the shield to his defense. Oh yes this weapon…this weapon…

His heels crushed the gravel beneath his being as he made his way back to his prey, the arms of wrath and gluttony being returned to their home of silence and quiet long ago. The ax's blade glistened elegantly with the light giving to it by the generous moon above, the grin of the Fox seemed to grow greater with each step to took. The slits glowed Hellish red and the black sulfurous smoke choked the air. Before him now, choking on his own blood and crippled lay Ax.

"Parlor tricks?"

A choked laughter bubbled out of Ax's lungs, "No, no parlor tricks… I have indeed been bested…"

A swishing of wind and the axe was held high, the grip never quivering, "Any last words… my comrade?"

Blood soaked eyes and quivering lips sought the face of his executioner, "Just that you use that weapon to protect your loved ones…"

"An odd request… may I have the name of the man who said it?"

Another bubbled laugh of blood, "Tarri… and yours?"

A silence filled the blood caked ground and the lightening cracked sky, yet still the moon shone brighter than all, "…Maelstrom…"

The lids of his eyes grew heavy and keeping them aloof, a chore, "And my…request… Mr. Maelstrom…"

"It was never in question…" the singing of wind and the slicing of flesh punctuated the sentence.

The Clone that held within its grasp the now sleeping Hyuga approached its master. Its masters head was down cast as he prayed for the soul of the noble man he had killed, then his head jerked up and to the Heavens a roar was heard from such a beast, that the flames that fed on once sturdy builds were silenced, never to relight, and that the clouds were shattered like leaves in the winds of autumn. All was peaceful, all was quiet…all was over. Again the Clone approached and this time its master looked upon him like black sockets of silence.

Just then four presences made themselves known in the Square, two men, a dog and a woman. The four gazed at the Shinobi that they had been sent to contact, the gazes were of awe, shock, and rage.

"You let go of Hinata right now you Monster!" bellowed an indignant Kiba, but strangely enough his partner was cowering in fear behind a stock still Shino.

Hinata at this point in time had finally both awakened as well as come in contact with the outside world in what felt like an eternity. She was curious in why he had wanted her to be cut off, but in seeing the destruction, death, and the mayhem she understood. She swiveled her eyes left and right, left and right, then finally centered on her prize. There he stood like in so many dreams and few nightmares, but something was wrong. Turning she saw…_him_… _yelling_ at the Shadow Fox, her Fox!

Without warning Kiba bolted towards the Shadow Fox with the intent to cause him as much bodily harm as possible, but before he could cause any harm to the infuriating Fox the navy blue heiress of the Hyuga Clan stopped him dead in his tracks. With viper like strike the Inuzuka was thrown from his position just centimeters from the Fox and onto his rear at the feet of Kurenai. Most of his body was rendered numb from the attack and his eyes were wide in horror of her protective pose as she stood in front of the Shadow Fox.

"Why are you here," spoke the Shadow Fox, his tenor voice sounding like a finely tuned violin.

Hinata turned to face him fully and had to rein her hectic emotions of uncertainty, joyfulness, and Love. "We have come in hopes that you will hear our proposal."

He looked down at the shorter girl before him and cocked his head slightly to the left, "And why should I, little Hyuga? The corpses before you intended the same thing and see how they fell. So why should I hear you out?"

Hinata had the decency to smirk slightly as her eyes became half lidded in mirth, "Why shouldn't you?"

Hinata's mind was on the verge of nearly imploding on itself. Before her surely stood her Love and under any other circumstances she would be a blubbering pile of pink quivering flesh just being within a two meter radiance of him, but all those years of self renovation had forced her to stand tall and speak boldly. But still, one microscopic part of her mind questioned if he even was the love of her younger years. Again the vision that assaulted her eyes those three years ago flittered past her lids and tickled her ears; her resolve once again solidified itself around herself like an impenetrable scaled armor.

Again the Shadow Fox titled his head but this time it was to the right, the Fox's mask grinning gleefully, "…has anyone ever told you that you are a smart-ass?"

Hinata's smirk ever so slightly, "Once…"

"Every well," exclaimed the Fox, "I'll hear out your proposal." Quick as a flash the scroll that held the Fire Shadows proposal and request found its way within the clutches of his outreached palm.

Instantly the Fox broke the seal and quickly skimmed over the content of the scroll. Nothing was indication that he was actually reading it, but as his hands began to crinkle the paper within clenching fists, they knew that what ever the scroll contained could not be good. His head snapped up as he seemed to have finished and the flames had once again been kindled behind his mask. Snapping his finger the Clone that had protected Hinata flashed to his side, it quickly nodded its head and headed back to the battle-scarred Town Square to go about its task.

"In three months you will return here, to this _exact_ spot. At that time I will return with you to your village. You are the only ones to retrieve me, _no more no less_. **D**o I **ma**ke my**self** _**clear**_?"

Kiba's temper once again boiled over and if it wasn't Shino holding him back, Kiba would have again tried to attack the Shadow Fox. So he had to settle for stabbing his finger at the now retreating figure of the Fox, "Where do you get off telling us what to do you _freak_!?" The single minded Inuzuka had the decency to not notice Hinata's chaotic glare of near insanity.

The Fox stopped mid stride and the clouds that had ran from his very presence stampeded across the sky and swirled over head like angry vultures. "Oh silly me, where is it my place to, out of the _goodness_ of my own _**heart**_, help a limping village that is on the verge of war with almost every other country out there?" asked the Shadow Fox, his voice now a dangerous baritone. He twirled in place until he was facing the pale faced Leaf Shinobi and bowed theatrically, bending at the waist and sweeping his hand to the side, "Thank you oh Honorable Inuzuka. You have shown these poor diluted eyes the light of day." He snapped to attention seconds afterward and began to stroke his chin in deep thought, his head cocked towards the upper left. "Now that I think of it, mere months ago, Stone asked for me to join their ranks… plus they seemed like very _nice_ people so…"

"You shall _not_," barked Hinata as she marched towards the contemplating Fox.

His head turned in her direction and his hands drifted towards his sides. His posture was no longer lackadaisical, but stiff and strong. Her finger began to drill into his chest over and over again as she spoke, "So you could leave a Village to die just because someone disrespected you?"

"That Village as done nothing for me-"

"Because you haven't given it a chance yet!" she all but screamed back into his face. Her voice was all but silent as she continued, "…you haven't given _me_ a chance…"

His shoulders rose slightly as his hand shot out and grasped he offending finger in a vice like grip. His head lowered until its porcelain surface was inches for her very nose, "I could kill you right now, _little girl_… doesn't that frighten you?" his voice was cool and even.

She looked deep into the slits of his mask and could a sworn to the Lord above that a flash of brilliant blue sapphires met her gaze. Her response came from firm lips and un-quivering eyes, "Terrified…"

A roar of boisterous laughter thundered across the now clear starry sky. The Fox's head was thrown back and his shoulders shook with barely restrained mirth and her clasped her hand in a gentle palm. He looked back down at her face only to boil over with laughter once again, and Hinata couldn't help but blush sweetly, "Did you know that you are the only person that has ever been truthful in this type of situation? All others that have answered that question have given me the "You don't scare me" speech and do you have any idea how that ended for them?"

Hinata looked towards the ground as he released her hand and turned to once again enter the forest at the edge of the battered Town Square, "Dead?"

"Yes young Heiress, dead… My orders still stand, three months…"

It was Kurenai's turn to have her voice heard as she stepped towards the fleeing man, "At least tell us your name," she yelled at his back.

He turned to face Team Eight one last time before he melded in with the shadows of the trees and foliage, "Do you ask an ANBU their name? No, but I will give you a riddle: a Sea of Wind and a Whirlpool found love one day within a Great Tree, from them was born a Maelstrom in the greatest of secrecy, only for the child to be hated and shunned."

And with that said the man was gone.

XxXxX

Several seconds past for Team Eight until what had occurred finally caught up to their awe struck minds, and Kiba was the first to burst into a temperamental fit, shrugging off Shino's grasp and storming towards a star dazed Hinata. He spun the poor girl around harshly causing her long navy locks to whip her in her own face, and began to shake her by her slim shoulders like a man possessed, "What is wrong with you Hinata, that man could have killed you?!"

His intensive shaking was quickly grating her last and fragile nerve. "Kiba, I appreciate your _concern_, but he didn't kill me now did he?" Her two gentle hands gripped his offending arms and pried them from her shoulders, but before she could make her way past him to where Shino, Kurenai, and a cowering Akamaru were stationed, Kiba gripped her hand in a vice.

"Hinata just listen to m-" his sentence was cut short as her closed fist his hypocritical face.

He reeled backwards with a yelp, landing on his rear and holding his bloodied nose. His eyes instantly changed from their once concerned hue, to an enraged hue of malice, "Why you bitch!" Before he could retaliate, Shino held him firmly with tides of insect allies swirling around both their forms.

"I would find it most unwise to make a come back Kiba," his voice was cold yet, when Kiba turned his head and viewed his eyes for the first time, his eyes chilled his very soul.

"I quite agree," came Kurenai's knife like tone as she stalked towards both of the ill-tempered teens, "and I'm sure that Lady Tsunade would like to hear of this incident." She took no notice of Kiba's paled features, or of Shino's and Hinata's stiffed postures as she continued, "Now we leave in the morning, be ready."

With that she turned and headed back to Tazuna's humble home, with a downtrodden Kiba and relieved Hinata and Shino behind her.

XxXxX

Once he had entered the solace of the forest, the Shadow Fox instantly dropped his slightly cheery demeanor. Time was short, so in a flash he was gone, heading towards his current home for the past year and a half. Trees flew past him as a mixture of green and brown, a sickening concoction in his opinion, and soon the cave that he resided in came to bare. Its entrance embraced him lovingly as its darkness enveloped his being but he could not take notice of it. Time was so very short. Reaching to his left, his hand slid over two seals; one to seal off the caves entrance with a large boulder that he had in is possession after a visit to the Land of Stone, and the other was a silencing seal.

"Power backlash in: 3…2…1…"

The earth erupted within the Shadow Fox, the sky ruptured and the gates of Hell broke open. Chakra whirled around him carving grooves and slicing solid stone to dust. His screams of pure agony were outdone by the whipping of flesh tearing winds that circled him. A sickening cracking noise sounded from his chest and was soon replaced with the shattering of his sternum and ribs as they imploded upon themselves; shredding his lungs and turning his heart to mush. Beneath his withering body the floor of the cave cracked and finally gave under the pressure of his Chakra, its crater spanning nearly two meters in circumference and half a meter in depth.

But the Hell was far from over for the young Fox. His spine cracked harshly, forcing his head to point towards the ceiling, his screams once again tore his vocal cords to ribbons. Muscles bulged and bust like fleshy balloons, coating the cavern red and pink. Bones shot out of strange places and twisted about, forming knots on itself, before cracking a shattering like glass. Hair grew over his body's entirety, black like fur that soon caught fire and burned with an intensity that would have blinded any that could have been watching.

Nothing quelled the pain. Not the ramming his skull against the cold granite floor, nor the tearing of his own flesh from his arms. Nothing quelled the pain. Even as he tore every arm from his body, it just re-grew in seconds and the pain continued. Nothing quelled the pain. Nothing.

But just like that, as instantaneously the pain began and reeked havoc with his soul and body, it stopped, quieted just like the seas after a mighty storm. His panting reverberated off the walls of the cave, leaving the once scream ridden room all but silent. He shook his head violently, shaking the cracks and cobwebs from his mind, and shakily made his way to his feet. This attack was by far the worst one yet.

"**Kit you need to gain a Mate as soon as possible. Other wise, I'm afraid that the next backlash may kill you."**

Once to his feet the man that was referred to as 'Kit' stumbled towards the wall, pressing his battered and bleeding carcass against it like a crutch, "No… I won't endanger," he groaned in agony as his chest finished mending itself, "…anyone. I can do this on my own…"

A growl of distaste echoed through his mind as he activated another seal that was carved into the wall of the pitch-black cave**. "I'm not going to let you die just because you can't bring yourself to get some Vixen involved. Remember, **_**boy**_**, who it was that brought your soul back from deaths doorstep, because if you die, **_**I**_** die." **Lights blazed into existence, and the Shadow Fox had to shield his eyes from the sudden intrusion. The lights of the cave were given off do to all of the excess power that was released from his person and was absorbed into the walls.

The cave entrance was a complete disaster; a large crater lay in the center apex of the room and blood, as well as other pieces of flesh, coated every inch of the vicinity. "What ever…" His hand slid over another strange seal and, once it was activated, the damage done to the room as well as the chucks of flesh and blood began repairing themselves and incinerating respectively.

What happened next caused him to fall to the ground as his brain all but imploded, **"'Whatever?!' This is NOT a 'whatever' matter **_**child**_**! You have no idea what may come from you over protectiveness. I have seen far greater beings then you fall from greatness because they didn't think any other person was worthy!"**

"It's not that there not worthy you overgrown slipper," his voice was weak and broken, like a man that was admitting a horrible sin to a priest, "Its that… _I'm_ not worthy of anyone…"

By now, the Fox was again on his feet and slowly taking calculated steps towards one section of the entrance room. All was quiet in his mind again all that was heard was the throbbing of his weary heart, and it disturbed the Fox slightly since his prisoner was never quiet unless it was when it was reviling in the carnage that he was inflicting upon his enemies. A breeze like sigh drifted past his ears and an almost mournful voice soon followed, low and wise, **"You and I know that that's not true. You and your, no, our brethren are worthy…more so than any others on this dust ball we call a planet…"** even though it was one of the few times the prisoner within the Fox tried to use humor to lighten a mood, it did not work, for the Shadow Fox remained silent; eyes downcast and clouds of depression and self-loathing swirled and twisted through hi mind, blocking his emotions from the eternal prisoner.

Finally the Shadow Fox came upon what he was trekking towards, a man sized statue. No features distinguish the statue; at best it looked like a faceless manikin with thin arms and legs. Its earth brown, clay form was held suspended in the air by a harness that came up from the ground and attached to its back with clasp that circled its waist, similar to those that held up novelty figurines. The Fox's hand suddenly slammed into the faceless face of the manikin, his fingers digging deeply into its temples, forehead, eyes and nostrils, as if creating finger holes in order to scale the soulless husk.

A sinister crimson aura surrounded the Fox's hand, and by association the manikin as well. Its head snapped backwards on its own accord and if one would have looked upon its face, they would have seen the bleeding of eyeless eye sockets before the pitch-black hole glowed with a flame that was only seen in Hell. Like a sickening wound reopened, its mouth tore free from its fleshy restraints, send a bone-chilling scream of indescribable pain into the once dead world. The cap of its skull exploded out wards and from it showering of blood, strands of hair weaved themselves into existence, long and silky, flowing like the liquids they were born from. Its lifeless limbs quacked and quivered into life, thrashing violently even as skin the color of ivory slithered down its arms and legs.

Wrenching his hand free from the living corpse, the Shadow Fox gazed upon the naked form of the now known man before him. Its breath was raspy and the once manikin's flesh still quivered do to the suddenness of its rebirth into the world of the living. Growling, the man whipped his face towards the equally naked man before him, his ruby orbs of annoyance boring into his soul in loathing and its lips curled back in a frustrated sneer, **"Give a Demon some warning before you do something like that you brat!"**

"I'm calling a meeting of the Nine-of-Nine, get dressed Slipper." The Shadow fox's voice was crisp and clear with no room for contradiction. His body pivoted from the sight before him and marched off towards one of the doors at the farthest end of the entrance room.

Grumbling about disrespectable brats and strange ways of disemboweling said brat with a spatula, the newly born Demon headed to his own room to get dressed.

XxXxX Ten Minutes Later XxXxX

Both individuals now stood within a crudely fashioned conference room. Prior to arriving at the conference room, the Clone that had both protected Hinata came back from the battered Town Square, its body covered with weapons that had once been in the custody of the feared Death Angels of the hidden Cloud Village. But now was not the time to gloat over the spoils taken by the victor, now was the time for a gathering of brethren, of brothers and sisters, of family.

Taking his seat at the head of the oval shaped conference table, Shadow Fox placed his palm against the cool surface of the table and called out in a voice that demanded respect, "I call forth the Nine-of-Nine, the nine brethren cursed by those they have sworn to protect, the nine that have walked through the Hell that is this plane of existence and have come out unscathed. I, Mr. Nine, call this meeting to order." With the proclamation made, strands of deep blue Chakra shot from his palm and spider-webbed towards each of the eight remaining seats until each one glowed like stars in an endless blackness.

One by one strange Clones formed behind each chair, coiled from the earths Rock, Vines, and Moister; forming Clones that had not walked for over one thousand years. Gaia Clones, named after the Goddess of the Earth from whom they were born. Each took their seat, sliding their chair back noiselessly. Shadowy figures materialized behind each of the Gaia Clones, their images would crackle and sway from time to time, arms either folded in front, behind, or at their sides; each figure's height, build, and gender varied.

At the farthest end of the table, directly in front of the newly christened 'Mr. Nine' sat a considerably small figure. His hair was the color a dried blood, reminiscent to the days where the blood of his victims flowed freely down the streets of his father's village. His eye sockets were as vacant of life as any pit of Hell or Purgatory, pitch black. Suddenly his eyes snapped open, revealing soulless aqua eyes that stole all of the warmth in his vicinity. Upon his forehead was a mark that he wore like a crown, worn with pride; the mark of Love, etched into his very flesh at a young age.

Mr. One sat, waiting patiently.

To Mr. One's left sat one of the few females of the entire company. Her hair was bleached the color of the sun, and reached down her back like a childhood Fairy Tale's Princess. Her eyes held more of a slanted cat like look than any of the other occupants yet her eyes kept their obsidian hue to them.

Ms. Two held her legs crossed at the knees, a look of frustration on her delicate features.

Directly across from Ms. Two sat what appeared to be a young child. His light tan hair draped itself just above his left eye and a scar as straight as can be retched its way from below his right eye and down his cheek to his chin. His eyes were of a strange and uncommon hue of light purple, yet they held an ancient wisdom within them that no being could hope to match.

Mr. Three sat strangely in the lotus position on his chair, with his eyes starring vacantly into the distance.

To Mr. Three's left was another red haired man, the same hue as the one on his right, Mr. One, but one of his more distinguishable was that this redhead also had a beard and mustache. Another of his more distinguishable features was that he wore a strange headpiece; it worn on his forehead, blocking it from view, similar to a leather crown, with a thick gray strap that ran from one temple, across the upper parts of both cheeks, and across the majority of his nose.

Mr. Four leaned on the stone and clay table with his chin in the palm of his hand, a look of boredom on his face.

Across from Mr. Four was one of the biggest men in the room, and probably one of the biggest that most of the people in the room have ever seen. His face was all cover except for his chocolate colored eyes that held nothing but strength and power behind them. A strange red plated like armor cover his face up to his eyes, similar to the type of plate armor that Samurai would wear and a gray cloth draped over his head, over his ears and reaching to his shoulders. Upon the top of his head he wore a traditional conical straw hat but instead of straw it was made of the same red plated like armor that adorn his face as well as most of his body.

Mr. Five, by far the largest of all the members, sat with nobility, his back straight and his posture perfect.

To Mr. Five's left sat one of the strangest figures in the meeting room. His onyx hair cascaded down his face and shadowed his right eye to the point of not being able to see it. Out of all of the people in the room, this man was not, nor had he any training, a Shinobi. In his mouth was a peculiar bubble pipe and once very few seconds a bubble of a different size and some times shape would escape its end. His face was that of pure boredom and sleep, lazy was a term that could easily describe this man.

Mr. Six all but had his body draped over the stone table with his eyes closed and his face being supported by his chin only.

The only other woman of the entire group looked at Mr. Six in amusement. Her hair was of the color of mint and her eyes were a light shade of red. Her face wore a kind hearted smile and her entire disposition was that of kindness and joy, the complete opposite of Mr. One's aura of death and destruction.

Ms. Seven sat leaning back in her chair a smile on her face and her hands behind her head.

Finally, the last man to Ms. Seven's left and the right of Mr. Nine, the Shadow Fox. He was the only member whose skin was of a different color, dark brown to the point of black. His eyes were hidden from view by pitch-black sunglasses that some thought were unnecessary do to the conference room being in a cave. Oddly enough the hair on both his head as well as his goatee were the color of cream and two triangle shaped tattoos were placed beneath his right eye. What little clothing he wore showed off his muscles, and what muscles they were; built from stone and crafted by master sculptures, this man was a Greek statue come to life.

Mr. Eight sat near the head of the table with a smirk of confidence and of slight arrogance.

The first to speak was Ms. Two, her voice grated and harsh, "Why have you called use here Mr. Nine? Usually an announcement is sent a week in advanced to when a meeting will be held, so what was _so_ important to call us all here with no warning?"

Both Mr. Five and Mr. One interjected but Mr. Five was the first to has his part heard, "Hold your tongue Ms. Two," his large armored fist struck the table, cracking a good portion of it, and causing Mr. Six's head to bounce like a rubber ball, much to the amusement of Ms. Seven. "Mr. Nine is the one that gave us a place to family so you _will_ give him the respect he deserves!"

Mr. One spoke next, his tone deadly and stealing warmth, "Must we remind you about _last time_ you spoke out of turn…"

Ms. Two went from aggravated, to insulted, to finally horror struck fearful. Her body shook slightly and she grew pale. Last time! Last time was-

"You were out shopping again, weren't you?" Mr. Nine proclaimed shortly, his voice curt behind his mask and the ever-showing smirk seemed to express the emotion of the man behind the mask.

Ms. Two had the decency to blush, "Well…you see… it's like this…"

"So…the reason your pissy is because Mr. Nine interrupted your shopping spree?" Mr. Six's face was deadpanned and all around people were shaking with barely contained laughter.

"Well you see…"

"Black mini-skirt again," Mr. One had one eyebrow raised and an unladylike snort escaped Ms. Sevens lips.

"Hey the Skirt was half price and it was begging for me to wear it, I could just see it in its seams!" as quickly as that spewed from her lips, she quickly covered them and blushed horrendously.

Bark like laugher escaped from every one except for Mr. Six, but just then a small bubble emerged from the end of his pipe and all grew silent in anticipation. It was common knowledge that Mr. Six usually communicated through his bubbles and all waited for it to pop. Higher and higher it floated until it loomed just above all of them, and finally it popped.

Booming laughter like that of Zeus echoed through out the room and soon everyone joined as well, that is all but Mr. Nine. Yes behind his mask he did hold a smirk, but it dropped not but three seconds after forming. His finger snapped harshly and all was quieted, the laughter ceased and room became a crypt.

"The reason I called you all here today is that some interesting events have come to my attention along with some information."

Everyone was now sobered and listening with the utmost interest and intensity.

"It appears that the Breaking Dawn is on the move." His voice held no emotion like it did mere moments ago. His voice now was dead like the slits of his mask.

Everyone's eyes were on those of the Fox's and all jaws were set in a thin line, all muscles were tensed and all happiness was evaporated. So they were once again on the hunt were they, hunting for the humans that were turned into monster were they? Interesting.

"When did you come by this information, Mr. Nine?" it was Mr. Four that spoke, his voice was gravely and deep, like a coal mine. His posture had also changed from one of leisure to one of readiness. His role in the group was that of the front linesmen, the first to go into battle and cause as much mayhem as possible.

"That question leads me to my next point: today I was found," this was of no surprise to most of the members, his head was pined after by all of the Nations. "by Leaf Nin's," this though threw everyone for a loop and Mr. Six almost dropped his pipe from his lips. Almost. "They have asked me to join their village."

Again all was quiet, but it was soon disrupted by Ms. Seven, "And your answer?" Her lips were formed into a thin line as she asked, but she already knew the answer, just like everyone else knew the answer.

"I have decided to join the Leaf Shinobi for the war that is coming."

Mr. Six took that moment to drag his living corpse up from the table and sit…straight-ish in his chair, pipe dangling lazily between his lips, "Have you forgiven them for what they have done or…" his one visible eye cracked open marginally revealing piercing golden orbs of insight and mischief, "is it…that they brought something that peaked your interest to your attention…?"

The Shadow Fox turned his head to face Mr. Six, seconds ticked by and silence reigned. Finally Mr. Nine spoke, "The village has done nothing to merit my forgiveness."

"Oh," so a small smile graced his lips, "So they did bring something to your attention…it must have very… _alluring_ to capture _your_ attention."

Again Mr. Nine did not answer, but soon Mr. Eight began to hum. It was quiet at first but as time went on the humming grew louder and more distinguished until it echoed through the room. Everyone knew the childish tune and judging by the tick marks that were multiplying on Mr. Nine's head, he knew it too.

"Mr. Eight would you please stop your humming," his voice was strained and if the singing did not end soon, the Shadow Fox could swear he was going to go insane.

Up until this point Mr. Eight's face betrayed no emotion, as if nothing was happening even as he continued to hum, but once Mr. Nine made that request his face split into a sinister grin. Throwing his head back, Mr. Eight finally sang the lyrics to the song and soon everyone joined in as well, even Mr. Six:

"Naruto's Got a Girlfriend, Naruto's Got a Girlfriend!"

"No I do NOT!" the newly labeled Naruto barked out even though his embarrassment was easily seen by the reddening of his neck. "Kira shut up before I kill you, you prick!" Another bubble erupted from the end of Mr. Six's pipe and again all grew silent. Higher and higher it drifted until… '_Pop'_

Rather…_suggestive…_ noises spewed forth once the bubbles life was ended and this caused all of the people in the room, even Mr. One, to laugh uproariously. Seconds turned into minutes and still the laughing did not cease as well as the noises from the popped bubble, finally, after a total of ten minutes passed all started to regain their composure. Still wiping tears from his eyes, Mr. Three spoke for the first time, "Well this couldn't come at a better time, since your last backlash almost killed you…"

All merrymaking ended instantly and no longer did Mr. Three hold a happy face, his face was one of disappointment, as well as everyone else's. Naruto's face was set sternly behind his mask and his voice held no room for argument, "How do you know that?"

"Did you honestly think that think you could keep it from me…?" Mr. Three said before tapping his temple, and Mr. Nine knew how he had come by this information. Mr. Three had a unique talent to either read peoples surface thoughts or delve right into their psyche; distance was never an issue.

"Naruto is this true?" Mr. One was truly livid, if the sand swaying behind him was any indicator.

Naruto sighed and placed one hand upon the surface of his mask. Compressed air in the form of steam hissed forth from the sides of the mask and the protective plates that both shielded the back of his head as well as hid his hair treated up into the porcelain mask. Gently he pried the mask from his face revealing sapphire eyes, three whisker like birthmarks on each cheek, and golden rays of spiked hair. "Yes… it is true Gaara…"

Gaara hissed violently and re-crossed his arms before his chest. "You fool, you know that your…Shadow arts, as you call them, put great strain on both your muscle as well as you Chakra pathways!"

"It's what happens to a Jinchuriki that has not found a Mate yet, or in your case, multiple Mates. Since we have so much Chakra and Yokai in our possession they help pacify our instincts as well as share in the burden of some much Chakra and Yokai by distributing it between each other," interrupted Mr. Three. "We have all found a Mate," everyone nodded at this, "But you…why haven't you found one yet? Surely Hikari is a good-"

"I wont put anyone in danger!" Naruto all but screamed. Naruto by far had one of the worst childhoods of all the Jinchuriki in the room, and the sense of 'not being good enough' always hung over his head as well as his 'hold the fate of the world on his shoulders' in fear of anyone getting hurt.

"Of course…" Mr. Three muttered. "Anyway, I suggest that we return to the situation at hand: the moving of the breaking Dawn, the Akatsuki."

Everyone nodded and they turned their attention back to Naruto, who was quick to direct it back to Mr. Three, "And how do you suggest we go about them?"

Mr. Three sighed inwardly, he knew that Naruto did not want to be focused on right now do to his interjection. Maybe he should have not pried into his thoughts and found out about both the young Hyuga Heiress as well as the use of his specialized Shadow Arts, again he sighed. "I propose that we also pair up, similar to the Akatsuki, that way we will never be alone and some one will always be able to watch our backs."

"What about our home Villages and our allegiances to them?" asked Gaara showing his first sign of having a heart besides the nodding his head to having a Mate. It was common knowledge that Gaara was the Kazekage of Suna, and it was understandable where he would be concerned.

"The pairings will be: Mr. Eight and Mr. One, Ms. Seven and Ms. Two, Mr. Six and Mr. Three, Mr. Five and Mr. Four. Kira you will head to Suna and meet up with Gaara there, Ms. Seven and Yugito will meet up in Cloud, Six and Three will meet in Mist, and finally Roshi and Five will stay in Stone. I will go to Leaf, that way all major Villages will be under our surveillance as well as said Villages being at our aid." Proclaimed Naruto.

Everyone had to admit it was a sound plan. This way each group's total number of Tails would be that of Nine, the strongest power that could be achieved by a Demon, and with each major Village being covered by two Jinchuriki, and each Village having one of their original Jinchuriki in its midst, if the Jinchuriki were attacked they would have back up in the forms of both a fellow container as well as slightly loyal Shinobi. One thing bothered everyone though.

"Who will your partner be? And what will happen to our Mate's?" asked Ms. Seven. Secretly she was glad she was placed with Yugito, that way she could have girl to finally talk to, but the thought of leaving her Mate upset her greatly…they ad just gotten married after all.

"You are to take your significant others with you, tell them the truth and if they do not wish to leave your Village, if you are leaving your Village, knock them out or drag them kicking and screaming…I really don't care." Naruto said with a shrug, his face wearing a slight smile at the small joke he had just made. The smile soon disappeared as he continued onto the first of her asked questions, "Once this meeting is complete I shall contact Hikari and she shall become my partner, she will also join me in Konoha when I leave for it in three months."

Most thought that Naruto would not take a partner seeing as he hated to endanger others, but since Hikari was the sister of the beast sealed within the blond mans stomach, most thought she could hold her own. But part of what Naruto just announced bothered Mr. Four, Roshi, and he voiced his question shortly after formulating it, "What do you mean 'in three months'? If they contacted you today, why aren't you going with them to Konoha now?"

At hear this honest and well-placed question, Naruto grinned, no sneered manically, sending shivers down all of their spines. There was a reason why Naruto led them all. "The Konoha Shinobi's were not the only ones that met me today, the _once_ great and feared Death Angels met me as well. It appears that the ax is the best weapon to complete my style."

Everyone was speechless, that is until Mr. Eights boisterous and Hellish laughter filled the room. It was said that the Death Angels of Cloud were on par with the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist when said Swordsmen were still together. But one difference between the two groups was that there was only _one_ Seven Swordsmen, while the Death Angels members kept changing. Once one member either retired or was killed, a replacement would be trained to take his place.

"So how many did you kill brat: Dagger, he's too hot head for his own good, or was it Ax…no that's a given, oh, was it Sword, or maybe-" Kira was interrupted from his chin stroking and guessing by one word from Naruto.

"All…"

Again people were stunned but not again interrupted them from their shock, "If there is no more business to be brought up besides Akatsuki, my new …_alliance_, and lack of a Love life, I would like to bid you good bye until a later date." Once everyone shock their heads as an indicator that there was no other business they all said their good byes and the Clones melted back in to the bosom of the Goddess of the Earth.

Naruto sat in the suffocating silence for several seconds once everyone was dissolved. The Shadowy figures that represented the beasts sealed with the individual that they stood over were unusually quiet, the normally had some thing to say. Even Kyubi said some at least once in past meetings, but then again today was the first time that they had tried out the Demonic Doll so the strain could have caused the ageless Demon his silence. Speaking of said Demon, Naruto leaned back in his chair and sent his eyes in search for the talking Slipper. Strangely enough he was nowhere to be found; had the Doll run out of his essence and collapsed somewhere? No, that Doll was supposed to as close to a real body as possible, so there was no way that it could 'run out', but then again it was untested. Did Kyubi just go to his room, since very now and then Naruto would summon him in the form of a Clone? Most likely, and Naruto was glad, he need time alone to think about what the others said. Naruto leaned back fully in his chair and began to breathe deeply with his eyes shut in hopes that his chaotic mind would set. Thoughts churned and churned with his minds corridors and winds of uncertainty rustled violently; the hurricane of self-doubt brewed within him and he _hated_ it.

What his brother and sisters said was the truth, as much as he disliked it; he was in need of a Mate, in more way then one. Sure he need their support for the Chakra and Yokai that ran rampant within his body, one body can only take some much power before the Charka and Yokai begin to tear the body apart, literally, in the search for equilibrium, but there was a more important reason that his brothers and sisters were hinting on; he needed their _emotional_ support more. Hikari was probably the only one he could consider Mate material, and had been with him on and off for three years now.

Naruto got up from his chair and made his way towards his room, never breaking his mental stride. Speaking of Hikari, he quickly sent out two pulses of Chakra to seek her out. Once she felt the pulses, she would know to seek him out.

Hikari was a sweet girl, the polar opposite of her bother. Her hair was the color of a fire in full blaze, her eyes were golden, a hue that was common in most Demons. She came up to about his shoulder, and her skin was slightly tanned, another common trait to Kitsune. Naruto was not one to leer over women but he had to admit that Hikari was an extremely attractive woman, Demon or otherwise. Her form was thin and sleek, her breast small but, from the looks of it, firm, a hand full if not a little more. Her rear was heart shaped and strangely enough she liked to sway it whenever she visited or he was in close proximity, he still had no idea why. She had a total of four tails, signaling that she had entered adulthood by Kitsune standards, though she still acted with a childlike playfulness at times. Yes she was a definite possibility, but, as was the way with the Kitsune, he needed a few more girls. In all honesty he did not want anyone let alone more then one, 'who would want a worthless, broken and dirtied person that was I' was his mind set. Because of his past, Naruto thought that he was worthless and undeserving of a women as well as undesirable, so who would want him.

He hung his head as he opened his door to his room, and once the door was opened he made his way to his bed and flopped down, full clothed, without a second glance.

Images of Hinata paraded through his closed eyes. She had indeed become a beautiful woman, no she was more than just 'beautiful' she was…she was… There was no word that describe her she was just…her. Everything was perfect about her: her eyes that shone with a kindness only suited for Aphrodite, her skin was softer then any silk he had ever touched, her hair, her lips, everything about her was perfect. But again why would she want a diseased outcast like himself?

Quietly he wiped away the tears that had accumulated in the corners of his eyes. He hadn't cried in over six years, so why would he cry over something as menial as this? Determined to sleep as well as rid himself of these troublesome thoughts, Naruto rolled until his back faced the door to enter his room and he face his nightstand. He didn't notice the sliver of light that came from his door as it cracked open just slightly. The beam of light cascaded over Naruto's back and fell on the few picture frames that lined his nightstand, his most prized possessions.

One was of Naruto and Hikari. Hikari had thought it would be fun to jump onto Naruto's back while he was walking and demanded that he become her sled dog for the day, and so the picture was taken by a laugh choked Roshi with Hikari, her finger point forward with a triumphant smirk on her face, and a winded but still smiling Naruto.

The next picture was subtler. It was of a younger Naruto, around the age of seven to nine, blushing cutely, with his hands behind his head, and a large toothy grin plastered on his face standing to a flustered Hinata. They had met at the playground that day and Hinata's mother could not stop herself as she asked the two to take a picture together, claim that they looked 'so cute as a couple'. The meaning was lost to the two children though.

The third picture was of Naruto and several of the ANBU that were positioned to protect him. Only one of the ANBU showed any emotion in the picture though, it was a Snake Masked female ANBU that was kneeling down it young Naruto's level and had her left arm draped around his shoulder, her other hand thrust forwards and forming the piece sign. The other ANBU stood upright with their hands clasped behind their backs.

The fourth picture featured Naruto and a shoulder lengthen redhead. She happened to have a scowl on her face but still graced a blush as Naruto all but draped himself over her, tears cascading down his face. In the background one could see the remnants of a broken ramen bowl and most of its contents on the ground, hence the tears.

The final picture had several people in it, all of the Nine-of-Nine to be exact, plus Gaara's older brother and sister, Kankuro and Temari. It had been one of the few times the whole Nine-of-Nine had gotten together; it had happened to be Gaara's wedding. It was a small occasion, seeing as Gaara hated large gatherings of people, yet the liquor was in great supply. By this time Naruto had gotten into the habit of wearing his mask religiously, but when a half drunken Kira suggested a drink off…well lets just say that the mask didn't stay on for long. It is known that a Jinchuriki has a high alcohol tolerance, this is true but a container can choose whether or not to have the tolerance take affect or not, they can turn it on and off at will. So in the picture Naruto had a thoroughly drunk Temari wearing his mask on the side of her face, draped over his shoulders like a shawl. Everyone else was either passed out or posing rather awkwardly in the photo. Oddly enough Mr. Six was the winner of the contest followed closely by Naruto and, ironically, Kira was the first out.

Kyubi gazed upon his container with eyes of remorse and sadness, his eyes swept over the pictures only briefly. How this boy still thought that he was unworthy of love was beyond him; he had five girls already pining over him as it was. This boy may be one of the most feared people on the face of the earth…but he was still a boy… Running around when he has yet to even crawl. It truly was his fault, the Kyubi's. If he had not attacked Konoha, this boy would have given a family, or making one at this point. Yet his sealing could also be seen as a blessing. Some may ask as to why it was seen as a blessing, it was because Naruto was the only person that could have taken all of that abuse and bloodshed and still come out semi-normal. Naruto's heart was and is still the purest of any man or woman he had ever met, and with another glimpse at the photographs that sat on Naruto's nightstand, Kyubi smiled.

"**God always has a way of making the darkest night have one of the brightest stars. You just have to be patient…and you have been Kit, and I feel that your stars will be the brightest of them all…" **

XxXxX End XxXxX

So what did you think? Good, bad, ugly? Your thoughts are appreciated as long as they are not flames.

Anyway, I'd like to shed some light on this chapter. One of the things that I put within this chapter is a cameo to my Uncle that pasted away a good 7 or so years ago: his name was Terry and so I made Ax my Uncle…even though I only used the name. Another thing is that I stole the Death Angels from one of the best manga out there, Kurohime. If you get a chance look into this series, you will LOVE it. For those wonder what my take on the Shadow arts are, I'll give you a brief insight. The way I used it in this chapter and in later chapters to come is similar to the Sakon and Ukon techniques meaning that arms and legs and protrude from different parts of the body with Kyubi in command of the claw like limbs.

I now gave light on the harem participants they are: Hikari from the original, Hinata, Anko, Tayuya, and Temari. Rejoice my brethren rejoice.

Other than that I can't think of anything else to speak of, so I hope you have a good day.

TTFN

Evilsheeplordthatsaysmoo


	4. Restless

Moo

Well now, what I have to say is that I am deeply sorry for the wait. I had originally intended for this to be out in December or January but my computer died on me back then, so I was slightly angered so I decided to work on 'Ten Thousand Fists' instead. Another reason why this took so long is because I was being slothful and I had to finish off my senior year in high school.

Yep, I am now a high school grad that works on his parent's sheep farm until September! Yay for me!

Anyway I hope you like this chapter, though it is shorter than some of my other chapters I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but low self-esteem and my favorite earless sheep Frosty.

XxXxX Restless XxXxX

Since that day more than three years ago, a strange happening occurred to young Namikaze Naruto. The young man lost all capabilities of dreaming. At first, he thought nothing of it but the dreams that were lost had been replaced with another, more cruel and punishing event. Namikaze Naruto gained the ability to see across time and space, to see that which would have happened, that which _had_ happened, and that which _was_ happening. He saw things that would have happened if he had not 'died' that day; he saw himself taking part in the Chuunin Exams, he saw himself fight his brother, Mr. One, and he saw his other brother betray him for power and hollow promises. He saw many things...some full of pleasure, some full of things that would make a lesser man want to kill himself.

It was not until a much later date, a date at which he unified his family and settled into a routine to train in order to gain strength, that the power of this 'gift' turned into his most deadly and unforgiving curse. It was later that these 'nightmares' took flight behind his eyes as he slept. He saw things, horrible, unspeakable, things.

One night, he would see a mad man, cloaked in black, as he screamed his Hellish triumph to the storm-ridden skies. At the man's shrouded feet was a mutilated corpse, also shrouded in a Hellish darkness, but as the serpents of lightning and the roars of thunder filtered across the sky, the corpse's face became viewable; its eyeless sockets gazing and bleeding crimson tears while its mouth was wide in a silent pain-filled scream. Again, the man roared into the sky, and again the symphony of the storm echoed to his ears but with one more flash of lightning, the surrounding area was illuminated. Corpses, thousands upon thousands littered the surrounding field, some whole while others were in pieces. Corpses of those he knew and those he would never know. Men, women, children, elderly, youth, friends, enemies, rivals, lovers, black, white, Konoha, Cloud…there was no difference…they were all dead, mutilated in the name of power and sick dreams…

Another night he was watching himself, staked to the ground by strange black rods with a man of orange hair standing before him, preaching of true pain. The man was a madman, insane in his prospect of teaching all people his ideals of pain and horror. It was then that a woman intervened, her hands flashing with speed and her eyes seeing all. The words she spoke were muffled, inaudible, but then she charged the man of orange, charged him with all of her strength, and even as he yelled; no, screamed for her to stop, she continued until…until…the sound of an explosion was heard and the woman was crushed to the ground by some unforeseeable force. The man of orange raised his hands high above his head, a dagger of some sort situated in his palm. And with a quick downward motion, the sound of tearing flesh and bone chimed. Words were spoken next, but they were not important, nothing was important now with what just happened…

Another night…

Another night…

Yet another night…

Sleep came more fitful after those nights for all they held were nothing but illusions, grief, and hatred. Visions of self-made Hells and forged Heavens, Naruto could no longer take the visions after several weeks, long agonizing weeks, and had taken the initiative to wean himself off of sleep in order to save himself from the horrors that waited to ensnare him in the night. At this point in time, all he needed to operate properly with was two nights of seven hours of sleep a week, and unfortunately, this day was one of the two that he had scheduled for his rest.

Even though this 'ability' was his greatest curse, he soon found out, by way of his Demon, that it was actually a blessing given to only a select few Kyubi. It was said, as Kyubi told the tale of his kind and society, that only the greatest Kyubi's of all time had the ability of Premonition. Therefore, to have the ability meant that some kind of turning point in history would be centered around the Kyubi with this ability, but was it worth the thought of having some type of time-altering occurrence happen to him if he had to relive all the horrors of the past, present, and future at once?

As consciousness began to leave him and the chilled hands of sleep ensnared his soul, he hoped the answer to his question, whether this gift was truly worth its backlash, would be answered.

XxXxX The Past: Part One XxXxX

He was so sore, so very, very sore. But why was this? He couldn't remember training this intensely the night prior… oh well; remembering things like this always seemed to slip his mind at these times in the morning. The sun wasn't even out yet, if the lack of light striking against his still closed eyes was any clue as to the time of day. Naruto then tried to roll over in his lumpy bed to catch just a few more winks before he would rouse himself to start the day…but found that he could not more from his position on his back. For that matter breathing was beginning to become harder too…like some type of weight was on his chest, but why?

It was at this moment that memories of the day prior flitted into his mind, the day at the bridge and the fight as well. It was then that he remembered the outcome of the battle, the sharp, piercing needles to his heart and jugular vein. It was at that blip in time that he realized what happened while he 'slept', his mind moving with surprising precision and agility in order to unravel the truth behind his absence. As much as he wished it not to be true, he could not deny the fact as he shot his eyes open in horror only for them to be doused with stone and gravel, and even as he opened his mouth to scream in terror, only for it to be clogged with soil and earth, there was no way around the fact that…

…Uzumaki Naruto had, unknowingly, been buried alive by his very own team and teacher…

Desperately, he began to wriggle his body this way and that in order to give his hands some room to work on excavating the earth around him in hopes of digging himself out of his 'coffin'. He tried to scream again, in hopes that the surface world would hear him, but another hand full of soil filled his mouth and clouded his throat. His eyes watered and burned, oh how he wished to claw out his own eyes to alleviate the pain of the gravel. His eyes shot open again in pain as he realized that his left leg had been broke during the burial process and even more soil invaded his ocular senses. He tried to roar in frustration and agony but that caused earth and stone to crash into his mouth and storm down his throat yet again.

His mind grew hazy and it was then that Naruto realized the first signs of suffocation beginning to take affect. His thrashing, and by association his pain, grew with new fervor. This was not how he wanted to die; no, this was not it by far. He was to die a Hero and a Shinobi, clad in White and Red. Not like some type of criminal, buried alive for the enjoyment of his warden and guards. Clenching his fists in defiance he began; for a lack of a better term, to get pissed. Very, _very_ pissed. His rage built itself on the thought of his Teacher and Team, his new 'family', burying him alive, abandoning him like some type of trash. The pain of his leg, his eyes, and his clogged mouth and throat, fueled his fiery wrath. No, this was _not_ how he was going to die! His rage began to build and, subconsciously, he began to drain the massive reservoirs of the being that slept within him.

His body began to shake under the strain of the intake of power. His eyes, widened in hatred and fury, began to glow with an unholy crimson light, pulsing and withering with influence of the beast that was held within his belly and soul. He began to grit his teeth under the strain of the energy coursing through his body; the stones between his jaws were quickly ground into a fine dust. The power that he drew from his slumbering tenant began to heat his body significantly, unknowingly burning up what little oxygen he had left, and shortly after the increase in his body temperature the hazy feeling began to encompass his mind again.

_No, no,_ his mind continued to yell at him as he began to fade from the waking world. _No, no_, screamed his limbs even as they began to loose their jerk and their protest. _No, no_, howled his silent voice as he tried to growl and roar his defiance. _No, no,_ bellowed his eyes as they began to burn harsher, even as the edges of his vision began to fade. It was no use though because soon, soon the heat from his body died down to no more than a wetted fire, his limbs moved more like a sleeping infant's, his voice like that of a muted storm, his vision like a aged widower. This was how it was going to end…

"**No, no…"** whispered a voice.

The heat redoubled itself until a fine layer of red plasma-like substance enveloped his form. The heat roared within the small area that was Naruto's tomb so much that the stone and earth that covered his form began to melt and form glass, as crude as it was. His eyes began to flash like a dying light bulb, flickering between sapphire to crimson and back twice more. Strength returned to his arms and his legs, strength that was unmatched by any who walked throughout Naruto's past life, his limbs beginning to quake and shiver as if his entire body was being shook by some type of engine or motor. His maw grew wide in malice; fangs tore his gums, leaving his lips slick with his own blood. Stone that tried its hardest to burrow into his lungs and gullet by ways of his throat and trachea turned to ash and molten stone in an instant.

"**No, no!"** barked the voice.

The nails on the teen's hands exploded, leaving the tips of his fingers nothing but massacred stubs until the power of the beast took affect. Seconds later, the blood that cover his stubbed fingertips coiled around said stubs and condensed until its density was greater than the best folded steel and formed claws, rending, ripping, killing claws. His shattered left leg stretched itself to its fullest, twisting and shaking, forcing the bone into alignment with a sickening _snap_. The aura of the beast mended the bone and tissue seconds later. His heart thundered within his chest, stormed against his sternum and ribcage like a hundred soldiers armed to the teeth, soldiers threatening to break its sturdy buttresses.

"**NO, NO!!"** roared the voice.

The power escalated, rose to a point that the being within the Seal thought not possible, but all the same it was the needed level. Eyes flashed from within his prison, maw opened in triumph, a fearsome roar tore the air and ripped the ceiling of the cell and mind. His tails struck the bars of his cage, struck and struck again until a steady beat was achieved, like the chinking of cups within a high security prison. The tempo increased and the roars joined the chorus rocking the prison. Power erupted forth from the cage and swept down the corridors of the Jinchuriki's mind like a bloody typhoon.

Suddenly, one single tail, rippling with unrelenting power and will, pierced between two of the bars of his cell. It wriggled within the 'fresh air' of the outside like some type of severed limb, savoring the small smidgen of freedom that he was able to achieve. The jerking and twitching stopped as it then jammed itself deep into the concrete and water covered floor of the sewer-like mind, its influence seeping into the being of Uzumaki Naruto.

"**NO, NO!!"** the voice shook all that existed.

Bars of crimson malice and knowledge exploded across the floor, walls, doors, pipes, and bars from the tail that now rooted itself in the floor. The energy, the malevolent Chakra, lit everything up like some type of large, bio-computer coming online. As the bars of energy disappeared into the dark abyss of Naruto's mind, the Heavens of said mind began to glow as if morning had come, blood red and shimmering with heat. The time was now, and only now!

"**Coordinates set! Demonic Art: Art of Instant Transmission!!" **bellowed the voice of the mighty Kyubi no Kitsune.

"**MARK!!!"**

On the outside, Naruto's body began to glow with such a light that not only had the soil surrounding him been turned to glass but also it was now flowing over and around his form like reddened water. The earth that encased his boiling body now shook. Above ground, trees quivered and swayed like elegant dancers of nature. The wind picked up, adding to the mayhem that was taking place, bringing fallen leaves and loose dust together into a fearsome tornado of rage. Clouds darkened, lightning crackled, and thunder erupted into vengeful roars. To the people of the Land of Waves, it seemed as if the world and God had begun to rage because of the unjust deeds that had befallen the young Uzumaki.

With Naruto, his eyes had all but transformed into search lights as they, literally, began to glare two baseball shaped holes in the 'roof' of his 'coffin'. His mouth was wide in a silent and wild scream of defiance and deep within his body, it churned the molten stone and soil that had tried to choke him. If anyone were to gaze upon his gaping mouth, one might suspect that the young man was indeed part devil as he now seemed more Hellish than ever before.

It was at this moment that the animalistic Uzumaki heard one word as it exploded within his clouded and devolved mind. **"MARK!!!"** Once that word broke through the obstructions of Naruto's mind, it caused his world to explode in a universe of blinding light, deafening sound, and unimaginable pain. In that one instance, a tear in time and space occurred directly in the center of Naruto's being; pulling him, contorting him until he fit within its small space, and finally spiriting him away from his would-be grave and eternal resting place.

All that was left as evidence of Naruto's time as a living corpse was a space of solidified glass, so strong that the earth above the now empty space stayed as it was; never to alert anyone of the now missing body. Above and around the grave of the 'Hero of Wave', all was now quiet. The storm that had all but instantly ravaged their small land vanished as if it was never there. The earth no longer quaked, as if shook by the steps of a mighty giant and the trees and foliage no longer waltzed like elegant Dukes or Duchesses, but stood silent and still like ageless sentries.

All was quiet, and all was still.

XxXxX Elsewhere XxXxX

Their mission went off without a hitch. All was fine, and it was a good change in scenery to be able to get out of their village, seeing as they rarely got out anymore. It was like being trapped within a bar-less cell, prisoners without a prison to live in. The stares they received, the glares that seared their backs when no one thought they knew. Everyone knew of their burdens, knew of their inner monsters, and yet they still hated them, feared them to no end. No matter what they did, nothing warranted their 'freedom' or their acknowledgment. They only saw what they wished to see, not that which was there.

The older of the two men sighed as he thought over these truths, and looked over to his partner. He was a large man, standing like a giant amongst men. He looked like he was built of stone and iron, and his voice was like thunder and cannon fire. However, the older man knew better. He knew better then anyone that would ever come across this imposing figure. The old man knew of how the Goliath of a man wanted nothing more than to sit on the mountainside near their village and to talk to the stones, gossip with the trees, laugh with the birds, and sing with the wind. He knew that, given the chance, the beast of a man would play with the children and, one day, forge a family of his own. Another sigh escaped the older man's lips. For now though, the Stone Golem would have to suffice with stroking the fire with a small tree branch.

Nevertheless, who was he to speak of others deep thoughts and dreams when he let no one know of his own? His dreams consisted of sitting near a trickling river, not a care in the world, as he fished day in and day out. It seemed that the older man also wished for a life of peace and comfort like his brother. He wished to be left alone to live out his life, maybe take a wife when the time called for it, and just exist. Exist until his life ran out, and then die quietly. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently, it was too much to ask for.

It was at that moment when the wind silently began to pick up. At first, it was just a slight breeze that caused their small fire to dance and to giggle, but it soon caught the dust and small stones, tossing them about. Before long, the wind transformed into a violent torment of blades, slicing and tearing apart the nearby land and trees.

The older man jumped to his feet in haste, seeing that this was not an ordinary wind, he could tell. It was not just the velocity of the wind that made him think this, for winds of this magnitude were not uncommon in the Land of Stone, but it was the _presence_ that flittered in and amongst the air and wind. Even though he himself did not know the presence, his inner beast seemed to be all in a dither over its appearance. It was not often that the great Yonbi grew this agitated, but whatever this wind held within itself could **not** be considered a _good_ thing. The younger man was also on his feet with his eyes wide in fear and awe. He, like his comrade, had never felt something such as this. Neither when they stood in front of the Tsuchikage,, nor had they felt something quite like this when they stood before the gates for their respected beasts. This power, this presence, was in a class all its own.

The younger man quickly came to his partner's side as the sky darkened and the Heavens broke into a chorus of flashes and explosions. The older man chanced a look upon the younger man's face and was surprised. The younger man's eyes showed extreme fear within them. Just like a frightened rodent, his head snapped from one direction to another as the sky boomed and the earth was tore asunder from the bitter wind. The older man grimaced at the look. Even though he held more control over his beast', the Yonbi's, power, his comrade, the Jinchuriki of the Gobi, held more power then he did. To have him be frightened by this presence and power did not hold well with the older of the two.

"Roshi…" said the man 20 years Roshi's junior, "what in God's name is happening?"

Silence was all that greeted Roshi, and by now, the earth was beginning to quake, and the sky was darker than any of the moonless nights. Roshi had no idea what was happening. His beast was telling him nothing as it paced back and forth in its cell. Its four mighty tails swished back and forth almost in anticipation. Why would his beast switch from being agitated to now being anxious in less then two minutes?

"Roshi…?" the younger man was now sounding anxious himself as lightning began to strike the ground not far from their position.

"What does the Gobi have to say about this, Kurogane?" Roshi hissed as he brought his arms up to protect himself against the small stones, and now tree branches, that were begin tossed about like paper in the wind. "The Yonbi is telling me nothing!"

Kurogane batted away a thick branch that flew towards him. Just like Roshi said, his beast was also telling him nothing. It, too, paced its cage, waiting. "Nothing," Kurogane shouted over the roaring wind. "It's like he's waiting for something…"

"Aye…same here," Roshi liked this situation less and less. Not just because their demons were now _waiting _for something, a clear sign of something bad, but also because Iwa's Black Ops had yet to be seen. Not saying that the Black Ops had any chance of stopping whatever it was that was about to appear, but if two high level Jinchurikki were afraid of what was about to happen, then a couple of Black Ops would most likely slit their own wrists, and drown in their own incompetence due to the level of power and intent that permeated the air.

"But the question is… _what_ are they waiting for?" asked Roshi as he eyed the crackling sky, Kurogane nodded in agreement as he set his gaze upon the vortex of wind and debris that surrounded them.

It seemed that their answer was close to revealing itself as the power that made its home within the air increased to a level that caused the two Jinchuriki to go down to their knees. It was not a vile power, but a power that dwarfed their own to the point of making them feel no more than ants in its midst. It was a feeling that the two never wanted to experience again, but as the power increased, so did the tremors in the earth and the lightning in the sky. To Roshi and Kurogane, it seemed like the Devil himself was making his way onto the land of the living.

Suddenly lightning converged upon one spot a little more than three meters from where Roshi and Kurogane were standing. The lightning struck not once, not twice, but _nine_ times in one place, scorching the earth and setting the nearby trees ablaze, leaving the spot barren of growth. In the place where the lightning had struck, the earth rose up, crumbled, and shattered to form a crater several meters in diameters and many centimeters deep. Next, came the roaring wind and as it swirled inside the crater, until it created a tornado, swirling and twisting like some sort of protective serpent as it defended the crater.

Finally, an explosion tore through the small camp of the two Jinchuriki that caused Roshi and Kurogane to be blown off their feet. The tornado was torn asunder with a horrid screech, like the wounded serpent that it impersonated. The trees that had somehow survived the nine devastating lightning strikes were uprooted and tossed aside much like a child discarding a toy from his or her younger days. The earth was literally blown to pieces. The explosion sent chunks of stone and soil dozens of meters in all directions, destroying even more trees and crushing the fire that Kurogane had been tending to moments earlier. Utter mayhem was what the small campsite was reduced to.

The sky suddenly cleared, revealing a full moon. Its light made all that was within the devastated zone as clear as if it were day. Its pale sheets of light caressed everything, from the large stones that were strewn about, to the decimated trees and foliage. However, what caught the two staggering Jinchuriki as they gazed upon their destroyed 'home' was not the up-turned trees or the human-sized rocks that were thrown about like dolls, but the shivering form that was just visible through the rippling smoke and dust.

A gasp was heard from Kurogane at the sight of the small figure. Ignoring Roshi's startled cry, Kurogane bolted towards the struggling form. His feverous steps crushed strewn stones beneath his massive feet as he rushed forward with Roshi close on his heels. Kurogane's heart pounded within his chest as he thought of the small child-shaped form within the smoke and debris.

Roshi knew that Kurogane loved small children and wished to have some of his own when the time came. In seeing, though not clearly, the form of a child, Kurogane's mind screamed at him to assist the child and to tend to its wounds. Both arrived at the crater, at the same time, to see what they never would have expected to see; the struggling back of a child after what had just taken place.

Kurogane slid down the slope and towards the child as he struggled onto his hands and knees. Roshi stood at the top of the crater, his analytical eyes taking in the form of the male child, even as Kurogane slid to a stop next to him. The boy had horrendously blonde hair; that was obvious even without the bright moonlight. It was one of the brightest heads of hair he had ever seen…well next to the man that destroyed his former Squad during the Third Great Shinobi War. Though the man was his Village's sworn enemy, Roshi, and all other Shinobi of Iwagakure, held the man's power and ability in high regards, but Namikaze Minato deserved that respect. Another of the things that Roshi noticed was how the boy's clothing was dirtied as well as horribly burnt. These were sure signs of either torture or some other type of similar acts. Before Roshi could examine the boy anymore, Kurogane's fear-filled cry brought him out of his inspection.

"Roshi!!" Kurogane's scream cut the air. His eyes were wide in shock and horror as he held the quaking boy by the shoulders, "I need some help here!!"

Roshi didn't hesitate as he heard his friend's plea. Swiftly, with strength that betrayed his age, the Jinchuriki of the Yonbi leapt high into the air and landed directly across his brethren. He looked at the boy and saw why Kurogane was in such a distraught state of mind. The boy was currently choking, and even though Kurogane was a lover or children and an excellent Shinobi, he was horrible at medical techniques and knowledge.

Suppressing a slight smile at how Kurogane could get worked up over something that was rather treatable, Roshi raised his hand high above his head and struck the back of the young boy with much strength. Kurogane gasped at the action that Roshi committed and was about to reprimand the older man for his senile action when the boy shuddered greatly and began to vomit. However, another surprise awaited the two as the boy began to clear his throat and stomach.

The coughing and heaving of the boy that associated itself with vomiting brought something forth from the boy's gullet that the two were not expecting: molten stone. Kurogane and Roshi jumped back in surprise, alarmed at what was now pouring from the child's mouth. As the molten earth spewed forth, it began to burn a decent sized hole between his quivering arms. It seared the earth and ate away at it as if it were nothing more than a painted canvas. Again, his body wrenched as more lava came forth. Tears began to pour from his eyes as his body quivered, a pitiful sob broke forth from his charred lips, and never in his life had the boy felt so pathetic and useless. For a third time, another wrench attacked his body, but this time the last of the molten stone came up, and with it came what little his stomach contained.

Quivering evermore, the blonde-haired boy fell onto his side and rolled several rotations away from the molten earth and vomit. For the first time in a long, long time, the boy wept. He wailed and he wailed, for he had never felt so relieved and so pathetic. His relief was because he was no longer within that earth-bound tomb, but at the same time, the action of vomiting as much as he did left him feeling as pathetic as a fevered child who had no one to care for him but his loving mother. Problem was, he had no mother that would care for or look after him, and this caused his feeling of weakness to skyrocket. He curled up into the fetal position, taking no account that his eyes no longer burned from the invading soil, or that his leg no longer throbbed from being broken and continued to weep and wail.

In all honesty, besides feeling pathetic from his prior action, he felt exceedingly frightened. It had been a long time since he had felt this frightened. Not even when he fought against Zabuza or his apprentice Haku, did the blonde ever feel this frightened. He had probably experienced one of the most traumatic events in his short life, and now he had no idea where he was, but even in his frightened and disheveled state, he was still aware that there were two other people near him.

He continued to weep though. He had tried to be strong in the past, to never cry again, just as he told Inari to never cry unless one was happy and joyous…but to be honest, once again, he didn't give a damn. He felt weak; he felt betrayed; he felt angry and he felt alone. He felt so many things that his mind could do nothing to cope with them but to weep. Why did all these things have to happen to him? It wasn't fair! He sucked it up until now…but why did it have to be him? Why couldn't there be a family for him? Why had God not gifted him with a family?! His weeping suddenly increased as he started to get angry. He wanted to damn God! He wanted to scream at God! He wanted to scream into his face that it was all unfair. He wanted to scream that he did nothing to deserve this!

…But…but…he had learned long ago that it did not help screaming to God or shouting to the Heavens. Nothing changed. Therefore, he lay there, even as the two unknown individuals came closer to his writhing and quivering body. He no longer cared. Why should he? He was most likely in enemy territory, and being in enemy territory, he was forfeit. Therefore, he just laid there and waited for whatever God had in store for him; whether it was good or bad; more than likely the latter of the two…

A soft hand touched his shoulder and the boy curled in harshly. The boy tried to quiet his tears and cries but he could not, and for an instance, the hand withdrew itself from his shoulder. However, the hand returned, and as it did, the young blonde screwed his eyes shut, in hopes that the invaders would go away and leave him to his despair. A sense of vertigo struck the blonde as the hand on his shoulder rolled him onto his back and soon another hand gripped his other shoulder. With the two hands, he was hoisted into the air and was crushed against a steel wall, or what felt like a steel wall.

The boy's eyes shot open and he tried, vainly, to free himself from the steel cage that he was trapped in. His sobs grew as he realized that he could not escape. He thrashed, he bit, he screamed, he wept, he kicked, he punched, he did all he could think of to free himself from the cage that held him. Finally, he reined himself to his fate and lay there within his cage, weeping with all his being.

"What is your name boy?" the voice was as if it was spoken from within a deep, dark cave.

The boy tensed and lay still, hoping to not be seen. The voice, though deep and mature, caused the boy more fright, and deep down, his self-loathing increased. He was a Shinobi of Konohagakure and yet he was reduced to this; captured and frightened like some type of woodland vermin. Within his steel prison, he curled upon himself even as the deep voice asked again, he ignored the thunderous voice. Yes, he was a Shinobi! As such, they would get no information out of him, no matter how hard they tried! Not even his name!

A sigh and the sound of something padded striking the ground sounded not to far from the boy and his steel cage. "Kids these days," a voice, not quite as deep as the one earlier, but deep with age, spoke. "Can't even return a kind hug, let alone give his name to his two saviors. What is this world coming to?" another sigh resounded before the elderly sounding voice continued; "It would seem that the boy needs some time to himself, Kurogane. You can release the boy from his 'prison'…"

The blonde child was then released from his inescapable steel prison and fell, curling up on the ground in the most pitiful of states. The boy's eyes were still screwed shut, and the older of the two chuckled wistfully as he saw the young blonde curl even more into himself. His chuckling stopped though as the boy shifted within his curled position, bringing to light something that the elderly man did not know. The shifting of movement caused the blonde to tense even more and the sound of footsteps nearly made his heart stop. Soon, the foot falls ended centimeters from his curled up form. The sound of the new intruder stooping reached the blonde's ears and, if it was even possible, the boy folded in on himself even more.

"Ah…so that explains a lot…" the older man's voice was quiet yet it still held no malice. A poke to the boy's slightly exposed forehead caused said boy to whimper. Another sigh, mixed with a weary chuckle sounded near the blonde, and the one that assaulted the blonde's forehead seemed to retreat.

Seconds passed and all that was heard was hurried whispers from the two men that had come to the boys 'rescue'. The boy still said nothing as he lay there on the cold forest floor. By now, all of his tears had dried and the wails were quieted, but the fear was still there, lurking beneath his skin. There was a sound of movement, and once again the boy tensed, fearing the worst. Were they going to take him to their village? Were they going to take him somewhere to be interrogated? Or were they going to start the interrogation now? Were they even Shinobi?

Another sigh, again from the older of the two men, echoed within the boy's ears, "This is getting us nowhere…" another sigh and the sound of a match being lit came soon after.

Were they going to start by burning him alive in order to get what they wanted? Oh God, he hoped not! It was not unknown for enemy Shinobi to set their enemies ablaze. Hell, there were _Fire Release _techniques that helped with that! Suddenly, the smell of sweet tobacco slithered across the young blonde's nose and a sense of comfort fell over the boy's shoulders like a heated blanket. The smell of tobacco reminded the blonde of his surrogate grandfather.

"Ok… how about _we_ start," said the older man as he took a deep drag off of the pipe that was now grasped between his teeth. "My name is Roshi. The man that hugged you earlier, well his name is Kurogane. We are both Shinobi of Iwagakure." The boy gasped loudly and curled further in on himself, but the man, Roshi, took no heed of it and continued, "We are both Jounin of said village." With that the man finished his small introduction. "Oh, and for the record, we don't plan on hurting you…" he added, as a side note.

Once again, seconds passed and all that was heard were the sounds of the man named Roshi as he continued to smoke his sweet-smelling tobacco and the sound of the other, much larger, man named Kurogane pushing about a strewn stone with his boot. The petite blonde, though still frightened, slowly sneaked his head up from his self-made home and observed his two saviors.

The first he took note of was the large Kurogane; never in his lifetime had the blonde child ever seen a man as gargantuan as he. Most of the giant's body was incased in a red, Samurai-like armor. An armor that cascaded down the man's massive arms to tuck underneath his black leather gloves, as well as crept up and hid the mans face from view, identically to how Kakashi's mask hid his face. It incased his legs finely and tucked into his buckled black boots, while a gray, sleeveless yukata top was tied loosely around his waist. Upon his head, was a strange hat. It reminded the blonde of the drunken bridge builder's hat; shaped like a wide cone, and, if wanted, could be pulled over ones eyes to either shade them or hide them. But unlike the man from the past, this hat was not constructed of straw and bamboo, but of the same red metallic material that covered the man's body. A smoke-like cloth flowed down from the odd hat, hiding the Goliath's ears, and pooled about his neck as well, giving the Goliath that much more of an imposing visage.

The next thing that the young blonde noticed was the mannerism of the Goliath. He sat upon a peculiarly, or at least it seemed to be placed peculiarly close to the blonde, stone several meters away from him. His elbows were placed roughly on his knees, fingers interlaced as though he was contemplating some kind of unknown offence. His head was downtrodden, thus allowing his cone-like hat to hide his eyes from the blonde. However, seeing how the Goliath of a man pushed a small rock to and fro with his boot-clad foot, it reminded the boy of how a child looked once scolded by his mother.

Were the Giant's feelings hurt? Was he saddened? The blonde ducked his head back into his arms and scolded himself. What did it matter if the larger man's feelings were hurt? Were they not planning on torturing him for information? A part of the boy reminded him that the older man, Roshi, had said that they were not going to harm him in any way. But the alert side of the blonde's mind kicked in and reminded himself that they were Iwagakure Shinobi, enemies of his home village. By all means, all that they said to this point could most likely be a lie. Heck, the names 'Roshi' and 'Kurogane' could be in fact aliases!

Speaking of the older man, the blonde chanced a glance at him. He sat on a large stone, similar to his comrade, one leg crossed over the other. His arms were crossed over his chest while one hand supported the opposites elbow while the hand attached to said elbow cradled his earthen brown smoking pipe. What caught the child's eye first, even before the billowing pipe, was the brightness of his hair. While the boy could honestly say that he had the brightest blonde hair on earth, this man could easily hold the crown for the brightest of the red heads. Not only was the hair tied tightly in a ponytail at the top of his head, but it also made it look as if flames were sprouting forth to consume all; the hair also encompassed most of the man's face. This was a sight that the boy had never seen before. In his home village, facial hair was rare and sparse; not many man found the need for such an adornment.

Though the boy did admit that he had seen at least two cases of slight facial hair, it was not like the mustache that hid all of his upper lip, or the beard that flowed from his temples down to his chin. It looked like the man was part beast with that amount of hair, but the boy wisely kept the thought to himself. The unique headpiece that displayed the man's village symbol was the next to catch his attention. It looked like a leather crown at one point, which was situated directly in the center of his forehead and the other two points were positioned directly parallel to the man's ears. Unlike the Goliath, Kurogane, the older man's choice in attire did not pique the boys interest: not the magenta, wide sleeved shirt, with a brown leather breastplate nor his gray utility belt, or his earthen brown Shinobi style pants and least of all his black, open toed sandals.

The blonde was not the only one observing his 'opponent'. Roshi, as he puffed on his cherry tobacco therapeutically, took quick, fleeting glances at the huddled boy. The boy was small and roughly around 13 to 14 years of age, give or take a year. Though his clothes were burnt, Roshi's keen eyes were able to see that his arms, legs, and over all muscle mass left much to be desired; which was odd considering his village's affiliation. On closer inspection of the child's hair, Roshi noticed that, not only was it as blonde as Namikaze Minato, the hair also had an uncontrollable and _fur__-like_ quality to it.

Roshi shifted his eyes away once the boy peaked out from the protective 'keep' that was his arms, least he be found spying. Seconds passed, and finally Roshi chanced a glance at the blonde only to see that he was inspecting, rather indiscreetly, Kurogane. Quickly, he continued his study, not knowing the instant that the boy would start inspecting himself. The blonde's eyes were eerily blue, and Roshi could not help but see a glimpse of that long-dead blonde, Minato. The likeness between the two, Roshi concluded, was damn near frightening. One thing the younger blonde had that the older, and dead, blonde never did were the six 'whisker' like slashes on his cheeks. Another interesting thing that the young boy possessed was what appeared to be claws, similar to those that Inuzuka possessed; it's hard to forget claws like that when similar claws had taken a rather large chuck of flesh out of one's arm in the last Great Shinobi War.

He then saw the boy slowly turn his gaze towards himself, so Roshi took a contemplating pose as he thought over the newly acquired information. If he were to be honest with himself, then Roshi would say that this boy was almost an exact replica of Namikaze Minato. All that made the child stand apart was his 'whiskers' and his 'claws'. One thing that was bothering the redhead was the fact that the child had yet to introduce himself like how Roshi introduced Kurogane and himself. Well…given how the child had all but '_appeared'_ out of thin air, almost literally, the boy did have some leeway on manners. However, it was quickly beginning to grate on the 40+ year-old man's nerves.

With a clearing of his throat, albeit a rather loud clearing, Roshi muttered, "You know, it's good manners to introduce yourself once your hosts have introduced themselves…"

As though a second wind had caught the blonde's masts, his emotions kick started. Rage trampled into his mind as well as his eyes, causing the normal placid sapphires to boil red with wrath. Before the boy knew it he was to his feet, jabbing an accusing finger at the two men. When he spoke his voice was a roaring volume that the boy never knew he was able to reach. "You're not going to get anything out of me!" he barked out spitefully, "You're Iwa Ninja, my…no, _our_ sworn enemy." He pointed towards his forehead protector with much enthusiasm and pride…but, honestly, all that the flimsy plate of steel held to the boy was the proof that he was Ninja, not of the Village, but of the practice. "I don't care if you torture me, poison me, or starve me, none of that matters. You will get _nothing_ form me!" by the end of his proclamation, the boy was panting and promptly fell backwards onto his rear rather ungracefully. His crimson eyes fizzled back to their brilliant blue.

The two men stared at the boy for several more seconds until the older man threw his head back and roared with thunderous laughter. "Torture?" he asked between gasps of air and laughter, "Torture? Now why would you think that we would torture you?"

"It's because I'm a Konoha Ninja and you are a Iwa Ninja," the boy fired back, though as he did his voice held much uncertainty.

Roshi continued to laugh even as his coal like eyes focused on the blond. "Are we?" he asked. "Let me tell ya something kid. Having grudges in our line of work will get ya killed rather quickly." The boy looked into the elder man's eyes in awe, "I can't tell you how many times I have teamed up with someone that I _should_ hold a grudge against…but if I had continued to hold a grudge at that one point in time, I would most likely be dead right now…" the man trailed off at the end, and the blond child could not help but look back on his own life.

Unfortunately, he could not find an instance where he had to team up with someone that he hated or loathed. But…maybe, just maybe, the boy did know of what the man named Roshi spoke of. As the boy thought this he subconsciously placed a gentle hand on his navel.

The boy looked back at the wise elder only to see him once again smoking his pipe and looking off into the distance. Again he looked from Roshi's contemplative form to Kurogane's downtrodden figure. Both did not seem to hold any ill motives towards the blond, in fact the larger more stoic Kurogane looked more worried then Roshi when it came towards the blond. Kurogane, if the blond were to speak honestly, actually looked worried for the boy's health as he sent the boy fleeting glances and apologetic stares.

Sighing, the boy quietly showed the two men his gratitude. "Naruto…" he began.

The two men once again glanced his direction and the now named Naruto took their show of interest as a sign to continue. "My names Uzumaki Naruto…"

XxXxX End: 'The Past: Part One' XxXxX

With a gasping breath, Naruto's eyes shot open and his body sprang forth like a startled cat. His eyes shot from one side of the small cave-like room to the other, rolling in his skull like the eyes of a frightened horse. For several eternal seconds, his breathing was sharp and erratic, nearly causing him pain with each intake of air. His heart felt as if it was tearing into thousands of pieces with each thunderous pulse that it made.

Fisting a hand over his troubled heart, Naruto took several deep and cleansing breaths in hopes of calming himself. It took several seconds, but before long, Naruto's mind found itself able to place two coherent thoughts together. Sighing with relief, Naruto placed his head in his calloused hands. He truly hated nights such as this. He hated the Premonitions. No, they were not Premonitions; they were night horrors.

Unexpected rage filled Naruto's calmed mind like some type of roaring storm. Before he realized it, Naruto found a pillow gripped firmly in his hand, only to be thrown _through_ the adjacent stonewall. A growl came from his throat as he swung his legs over the side of his queen-sized bed, and soon after, he was prowling out of the decent sized room in a foul mood.

Why must he be plagued by such obscene events? Why must he have to endure the troubles of the past? The present? The future? Another growl made its way out of his clenched teeth. He struck another wall with his closed fist, sending spider web-like cracks along its harsh surface. With his fist still pressed against the stone wall, Naruto released more frustration by racking the wall with his claw-like nails across its surface; leaving deep, violent gouges.

Sighing in a hiss-like way, Naruto stalked down the hall he was currently punishing. He hated these moods. He hated being angry and scared. He hated fear in general. It was always like this once he woke up. He always felt like a newborn child who woke up from a nightmare, crying out for his mother to comfort him. Another growl was released from his closed maw. He needed something to take his mind off of these thoughts, these dreadful, dreadful thoughts. He needed a distraction, and a really good one at that.

With his mind on autopilot, Naruto found himself knocking a heavy wooden door off its iron hinges. It crashed into the brightly lit room, knocking over clean wooden tables, throwing neatly stacked surgical and blacksmith tools to the stone floor, and soon, found itself reduced to sawdust by the man standing before an 'X' shaped rack. The man was dressed in a black tee shirt, black pants, and a white laboratory coat that cascaded down to his polished black shoes. He lowered his closed fist even as he continued to gaze at the clipboard that was grasped lightly in his left hand. Nodding his greasy crimson-topped head at the contents of the clipboard, the man turned his crimson eyes lazily towards the severely angered man.

"Must you always destroy my door when you're angry, Naruto?" asked the man as he turned his eyes back to his silver clipboard. "I mean, honestly, that's like the," he paused and began to count on his fingers as he measured the times of random destruction, "seventh time this calendar month."

Naruto ignored the man and made his way to the 'X' shaped rack. Once there, he laid himself down upon the steel surface of the 'X', never once noticing the chill that it held. The red-haired man continued his ranting about 'blondes that could not respect other people's property' even as he helped the young blonde strap himself into the steel device.

"I mean, not only do you force me into this Doll, albeit painfully, but now you're making me do a surgery that hasn't been done in over 4000 years?" spoke the greasy crimson-haired man as he looped the sturdy leather cuffs around the blonde's arms.

"Shut it, Slipper…" hissed the restrained man. "I don't give a damn about your likes or dislikes at this moment…"

'Slipper', as the mighty and fearsome Kyubi was now referred by, looked up from the leg he was restraining. Silently, he went back to his duty and with two more tugs, the cuff was secured. The boy, for he would always refer to the man before him as a boy, had been like this even before he became a Konoha Shinobi, and it troubled Slipper. Sure the boy could be quiet, secluded, and arrogant in some aspects, but this sudden change to the boy's normal 'sunny' disposition troubled the demon.

"So…which Premonition was it this time…," asked Slipper as he walked to the nearest wooden table and took a recount of the metal plates, surgical tools, wrapping, and other such implements. Slipper knew of the Premonitions, though he was not gifted with the miracle-like ability, unlike his father. His father…his mother…his sister…he shook his head, sending his greasy hair into his face rather unpleasantly. Those were thoughts for a different time.

Naruto did not answer right away, but instead, turned his head to the right, away from Slipper and his table of toys. He felt almost ashamed. In looking into the past, he had to relive the emotions that he had all but suppressed, the same emotions that plagued him on his way into Slippers 'Dungeon of Horror, fear, and other such Unpleasant things' (Indeed, not a very good name…but then again, Slipper was never very good at being creative…hence why he was not in charge of torture, or cooking…)

With his face still turned from the stereotypical 'mad-scientist' Naruto muttered one word that stopped Slipper as he began to test a scalpel with his thumb, "…burial…"

Slipper turned to look at the blonde even as he refused to meet his gaze; burial, which was the incident that started it all, as it had come to be known between the two of them. It was also, by far, the worst experience of the young boy's life. Sleep barely came for the blonde for many months afterward, it wasn't until a rather _unique _red-haired catalyst came into the picture did sleep finally come again. With a nod of understanding, though, Naruto could not see it from his position, Slipper turned back to his table of toys.

"You ready for this, boy?" asked the weakened demon. It was a promise, albeit unspoken, that they would not discuss the incidents held within the Premonitions unless Naruto wished to speak of them. Furthermore, since some of the Premonitions were of the future, retelling them to the outside world could cause a disturbance in the timeline and make the event never happen, happen earlier or later, or even happen far worse than what it originally was.

Naruto looked back into the face of his soon to be surgeon, torturer, and creator. A beast-like grin wetted his lips, pushing aside his shame and brought his ruthlessness to the forefront. "Let the distraction begin," he breathed.

"No, no," laughed Slipper as he dug his scalpel into Naruto's right palm and slowly began to drag it down the flesh of his arm, "let the rebirth begin. The rebirth of the Black Armed Shinigami…"

XxXxX End XxXxX

That is my chapter. I hoped you liked it. Again I apologize for the length. I had originally intended to have this chapter containing all of the flash backs of Naruto's life prior to meeting Hinata and the team from Konoha but I decided against it because I was lazy and I wanted to get working on 'Ten Thousand Fists'. But do not worry the other flash backs will be sprinkled throughout the story like any good author would do.

Anyway, I have a little challenge for my dear friends and readers:

At the end of this chapter I placed in a little cookie, the clue is in the last paragraph. The first reader to tell me where the cookie is from and who wrote it, for it is a manga series, will get not only a preview of my next chapter of 'Rumors of the Shadow Fox III' but also a preview of a new story idea I have thought up recently…

The race is on! So be kind and please PM me when you believe you have the answer.

Also if you have ideas or thoughts on my story, please relay them. I like getting help and making this a story worth reading so do not hesitate. Reviews welcome but I just wish that you enjoy this work of words, that's all that matters to me. :)

Last of all I wish to thank my beta's. I rarely see anyone do this with their stories but I hope that I can start a trend with this. Also thank you to a man that-will-not-be-named as well as the following beta's:

**Beta Notes (Warper): Well If you've read the notes in chapter 3 of Ten Thousand Fists then you know I'm one of Evilsheeplord's minions. Not a great one, but a minion nonetheless.**

**Really, I'm glad to be able to beta for such a great writer. In truth, the most I'm able to do is fix some very minute, almost unnoticeable, grammar errors. I hope to be able to beta more for this guy, but so far, I'm just a lowly minion who does what he's able to.**

**ALL HAIL THE EVIL LORD OF THE SHEEP WHO SPEAKS IN COW! MOO!!!!!!!!!!!**

**---**

Animeawesome: you might as well call me the fine-tooth comb. Tiny inconsistencies in grammar/spelling is all I fix. Ah well, I may be a fine-tooth comb, but I'm a fine-tooth comb that's been to JAPAN!!!

**LET US ALL CONSPIRE TO SAY MOO IN TOKYO!**

Thanks for reading and have a great summer!

Evilsheeplordthatsaysmoo


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